Letter to the Editor
New Bridge relegates Nelligen to a Backwater
The NSW Premier has sent a letter via the Minister for Roads to a local resident stating the height of the proposed new bridge will only be 12 meter from the water. This is just a bold justification of the bridge design taken from the initial “community consultation” meeting where only three similar designs were presented - all concrete pier and beam. From that point forward the project team has dug in providing no alternative bridge designs and when questioned no cost benefit analysis of any alternatives or heights.
What happened to the concrete or steel arch bridge design? Dismissed as too expensive but no indication of how much more but what of the additional cost not only in construction flow-ons but to the community of additional flooding of the CBD, the extra turbulence which will erode the banks and may compound the northern beach area. The impact on the fish and environment during the sinking of the piles is not even considered. And what of the impact along the shoreline as the concrete on-ramps and piers confine the space along the river banks.
All this would disappear if we had an elegant steel or concrete arch bridge with a 18 meter water clearance. It would, like the current bridge, be an icon and not an eyesore.
The letter from the Minister preempts the analysis of the community’s submissions which either highlights how out of touch the Roads Minister actually is, or our community submissions are worthless. Maybe just a tick in the box.
I trust the good burgers of Nelligen, the local resident Mayor included, should be up in arms that their once great port will now fast decline into a muddy backwater where only the smallest vessel will visit. They will never see a sail again and the annual BB Sailing club cruise will be discontinued because 70 per cent of last years participants will no longer fit under the 12 meter clearance.
The numbers (Not facts) quoted in the letter are incorrect. (90% of current boat trips is just wrong. What of potential?) It appears fake data is being used to justify the decisions. Many fishing cruisers are also doomed unless they lower their antenna and radar. The question is "Will the current tourist ferry slip under the lower bridge clearance or was that height clearance included in the Council’s submission?" They must have read the Blue Book’s flood and erosion analysis and the impact the turbulent water will have on the buildings and shoreline.
Local sailor
Name and address supplied
