The Beagle Editor,
Having read the article New Moruya Bypass Bridge Could Be A Statement About Our Community I had to laugh at the suggestion that the new bridge could "stand out on the highway as a striking statement about the Moruya district" drawing an example of the Da Nang bridge in Vietnam.
Anyone looking at the RMS projects page for bridges will soon discover that their idea of a bridge is a long way from incorporating elements "to transform them into beautiful objects".
Just have a look along the Princes Highway over the last couple of years. Berry flyovers, Albion Park flyovers, Gerringong flyovers, Dignams Creek, the Bega Bypass flyover, Burrill Lake Bridge, and the new bridges at Batemans Bay, Nelligen and Nowra. They are all clones off the same drawing board of economic rationalism, ease of build and prestressed components.
Without a doubt they are all engineering marvels. But they are lifeless. People used to photograph the Clyde River Bridge. No one will be photographing the Constance Bridge. It is just a boring Same As Every Other Bloody Bridge.
I commend the Moruya Chamber dream of a new bridge that stands out on the highway as a striking statement about the Moruya district but honestly, why would they bother to take on additional cost and maintenance.
And what exactly would the striking statement be? More Black Ducks, Cows, Rounds of Cheese? Oh pleeeaaase dont' say granite.
My guess is that they will retain the pre-stressed girder factory at Mogo after Nelligen Bridge and roll out a four lane clone of the Batemans Bay bridge devoid of ducks, dragons or anything vaguely resembling a striking statement about the region.
You might think this letter harsh.
All the Moruya Chamber need do, in the first instance, it to familiarise themselves with the RMS Bridge Aesthetics Design guideline to improve the appearance of bridges in NSW Centre for Urban Design | February 2019
Bernard Dreyton
Above: Sportsmans Creek, Lawrence - Photo RMS
