Restore Cuttagee Bridge
The Cuttagee Bridge Restoration Group comprises local residents and experts committed to restoring the 133-year-old, heritage-listed Cuttagee Bridge.
Cuttagee Bridge in perspective
The Southern Aurora joins us
From above
Showing the safe, shallow waters below
An earlier protest
… and another
A natural setting under threat
Every voice counts
Tranquility
The bridge today
Ken Murtagh’s drawings
Restoration plans
Ken Murtagh is a highly respected engineer who has already provided detailed drawings, outlining a clear plan for the restoration of the Cuttagee Bridge. These drawings demonstrate that a restoration of Cuttagee bridge is not just achievable within the 15 million dollar budget but far preferable to the insane heavy freight concrete bridge being pursued by Transport NSW and Bega Valley Council. https://cobbers.com/wordpress/?page_id=7
Who are we?
The Cuttagee Bridge Restoration Group
The Cuttagee Bridge Restoration Group is a new organisation formed in November 2025, to build on the inspirational work of the Save Cuttagee Bridge group, who secured a promise of $ 15 million from the NSW Government for the restoration of Cuttagee Bridge.
We are currently working with some of Australia’s leading engineering firms to develop genuine heritage restoration options that retain Cuttagee Bridge’s heritage values, maintain the same environmental footprint, and protect the wildlife and community amenities in the surrounding areas.
We are committed to using the best science and engineering, combined with community mobilisation, to stop the destruction and replacement of the Cuttagee Bridge with a two-lane concrete replacement, which is environmentally destructive and an obscene waste of taxpayers’ money.
Please join the fight!
Find out more here:
Cuttagee Bridge update May 2026
A tale of broken promises, deception and propaganda
Michael Holland and Jenny Aitchison were both elected on a platform of providing $15 million for the restoration of Cuttagee Bridge in 2023. The community believed that the Cuttagee Bridge campaign had been successful, and restoration of the 133-year-old heritage-listed Cuttagee Bridge was assured.
So, for many people, when a farcical “community consultation” started in November 2025, it was a complete shock to find that the only options being considered by Bega Valley Shire Council were two-lane concrete replacements, originally estimated to cost between $23 and $ 29 million.
Although there was disagreement amongst councillors regarding which of the three options should be built, all three options required the destruction of the current Cuttagee Bridge and replacement with a two-lane concrete bridge. One of the three options was farcically presented as a one-lane bridge because one lane had a wooden walkway installed on it, which could easily be removed to create a second driving lane. The environmental footprint of all three options is the same.
Given that we have expert engineering advice that restoration of the Cuttagee Bridge could be done within the $15 million already allocated for the bridge, it is reasonable to ask where they are getting the money for the now estimated $28 million required for a two-lane concrete bridge?
The answer is the NSW Government. The Main Roads Minister, Jenny Aitchison, has so far agreed to divert the $15 million originally earmarked for restoration towards destruction and replacement.
Of course, the Bega Valley Council still has no money, and so they are asking the NSW Government for another $13 million for a two-lane concrete replacement bridge.
The first thing to understand is that despite years of neglect by the Council, the Cuttagee Bridge remains fit for purpose and, according to many of the most experienced Heritage Bridge engineers in Australia, can be restored to a very high standard within the original $15 million budget.
It is important to understand that the Council’s determination to destroy and replace the Cuttagee Bridge is based on ideology rather than data or a thorough evaluation of the bridge’s condition.
A political deal appears to have been done between the Council and Transport NSW to get the NSW Government to sign a blank cheque for the destruction of the Cuttagee Bridge.
The evidence for this deal is the fact that Michael Holland and Jenny Aitchison have backed away from their commitment to provide $15 million for heritage restoration.
We are committed to bringing transparency to this process and deconstructing the propaganda being peddled by the Council and Transport NSW.
Heritage experts, environmental experts, and engineering experts are all appalled and are mobilising. The obscene waste of taxpayers’ money will also be highlighted.
There is no way this bridge will be destroyed except with money provided by Michael Holland and Jenny Aitchison. We need your help to change their minds!
The amenity and safety of families who enjoy the lagoon in and around the bridge will be destroyed as speed limits over the bridge will be raised from 10km per hour, and the traffic calming created by a one-lane bridge is removed.
Cuttagee Lake and its iconic Heritage Bridge form a very special part of the south coast; the bridge continues to play a critical role in maintaining its character and charm. We are the only friends this bridge has!
Please join the fight to save our one-lane, heritage bridge. We can change the NSW Government’s mind!