Bridge cover up

As a consequence of the report the other shortlisted green route (alongside the railway crossing) would have been the next best and the only likely option.

The report stated the existing traffic bridge is “to be afforded protection under the NSW Heritage Act 1977 and heritage consideration must be incorporated in any future planning or development that may affect the heritage values of the bridge”.

The detailed heritage assessment report was carried out by highly regarded archaeologist Caroline Wilby, who at the time worked for Cosmos Archaeology Pty Ltd.

Ms Wilby outlined to RMS on behalf of Moira Shire and Corowa Shire Councils the bridge has heritage significance at a local level and is listed on the RMS S170 Heritage and Conservation Register.

The leaked report comes as a slap in the face to residents and bordering councils who have worked tirelessly for more than a decade lobbying for a new bridge route, deliberating over alternative routes, eventually over two shortlisted route options, the green route and the grey route. The grey route, as indicated by both state road authorities and governments, would have also forced the demolition of the existing bridge.

The heritage assessment report was delivered to the Green Route Community Group early this year but efforts by the group to find out if both councils and Transport for NSW have the report on file have been futile.

“It was brought to our attention in January 2022 that a Heritage Assessment report was commissioned by RMS now Transport for NSW at Wagga and paid for by public funds,” Chairman of the Green Route Community Group John Lawless said at a press conference on Tuesday.

“This final report and its recommendations were printed in January 2012, however it appears that it was never released to the public even though it clearly has Moira Shire Council and Corowa Shire Council (now Federation Council) names printed on the front page.

“Our group has gone through the FOl (Freedom of Information) process and neither councils, nor Transport for NSW have been able to supply a copy of this public report to our solicitor.

“We believe that the communities of Mulwala and Yarrawonga deserve to know why this important report was apparently buried for 10 years.

“Our group believes that because the recommendations in the report did not suit the narrative of RMS at the time, it was not released to Moira and Corowa Shire Councils and thus held back from the public.

“If this report and its recommendations were released in 2012, then we would not have been arguing over a bridge route, it could have saved us 10 years, because the recommendations clearly state that the bridge should be preserved at all costs for its heritage value as long as there is an alternative route.

“This alternative route had been known for six years because of the HD report in 2006,” Mr Lawless said.

Moira Shire Council conducted an expensive and exhaustive plebiscite in 2017 and Federation Council conducted its own survey in 2019 to determine what preferred route residents wanted.

The green route was finally in favour (the first time since 2015) with the NSW and Victorian Governments after extensive community consultation was sought by Transport for NSW to better understand the community’s preference in July 2021.

Mr Lawless said all surveys and the plebiscite have indicated 70% of the Mulwala and Yarrawonga residents support the alternative green route rather than the grey route.

“Our group believes that if this heritage report was released in 2012, we may have our new bridge built by now at a saving of tens of millions of dollars.

“This bridge saga has caused a lot of anxiety within our communities and our group has met with the NSW (Roads) Minister, Sam Faraway and have told him about the report.

“We have also met with managers of regional roads in both Victoria and NSW in recent months and shown them the front page and recommendations of the report, and to date we have not had any explanation as to why this public document never saw the light of day.”

Questions to be asked

Mr Lawless said that this may be just a mistake of one or two bureaucrats, but they are seeking a response to how something as important as this can just disappear.

“Has the public report been destroyed? Or is it buried in the Wagga office? These are the questions our group and the people of Mulwala and Yarrawonga want answered as well as the Federation Council and Moira Shire Council,” Mr Lawless said.

Mr Lawless said the committee were deeply concerned that it was an attempt to manipulate things to suit the authority’s own narrative and the local communities have been left in the dark.

“Thankfully our group is strong and has been able to weather this through and finally get everyone on the common-sense green route.

“If only we could have done this 10 years ago as the GHD report (2006), the URS report 2012 and the final Heritage Assessment report recommended.”

In 2018, the NSW and Victorian governments carried out the Murray River Crossings Investment Prioritisation Assessment to help inform and prioritise future investment decisions by ranking each crossing over the Murray River.

The assessment reviewed 32 bridge and ferry assets and considered freight connectivity, road safety, reliability, condition, proximity to alternate crossings and pedestrian and cyclist facilities.

At the time the Yarrawonga Mulwala Bridge was ranked eighth highest priority for investment, behind Swan Hill, Tooleybuc, Abbotsford, John Foord, Murrabit, Towong and George Chaffey bridges.

The time to move is now

Mr Lawless emphasised the “crucial” need to prioritise a new replacement bridge for Yarrawonga Mulwala.

With Mulwala’s munitions facility (Thales) being a strategic focus for shoring up the Australian Defence Force sovereign guided missile capability, he said it was imperative the Yarrawonga Mulwala replacement bridge was put on top of the list immediately.

As reported by the Yarrawonga Chronicle in August, the spotlight is on Mulwala’s Thales munitions facility as part of a current Australian Defence Force (ADF) review. The review is expected to see a significant acceleration and scaling up of Australia’s guided weapons manufacturing capability with the aim of also stockpiling weapons such as missiles which in part will be made in Mulwala. The Mulwala site is included in a $1 billion Australian Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO).

“The two state governments along with the federal government must now start planning, find funding and build this crucial piece for infrastructure as a matter of priority,” Mr Lawless said.

Mr Lawless highlighted that the Yarrawonga Mulwala area is also growing at a very fast pace and a new bridge is not only important for major employer Thales but for the many businesses particularly those in farming.

“It is important to have the shortest and safest route for the Thales munitions plant transporting propellant, powder and hardware to its sister factory in Benalla, as well as a direct route for all the farmers north of Mulwala that need their grain transported to the closest port in Melbourne,” Mr Lawless said.

Mr Lawless agreed it was disappointing the weir bridge was now closed to vehicular traffic even though authorities warned it would be closed by 2020 way back in 2002. More subsequent traffic on the 1924 built bridge also highlights the need for a new bridge.

“A recent traffic count by Federation Council in May, 2022 revealed there was more than 9,000 vehicle crossings on the old bridge per day. And May is a quiet time of the year.

“This bridge should have been built five to eight years ago but we must now make up for lost time.”