[Bermagui Community] [Brogo Community] [Quaama Community] Brogo Bridge

Sun Jun 5 11:19:41 AEST 2022

Again – for anyone who is crazy enough to follow this discussion.

If you go to https://maps.six.nsw.gov.au/  you will see that the river is crown land, so there is no problem with re-establishing the ford from that point of view.

There are remaining crown land road reservations on both the north and south side of the river, probably once were stock routes, but they do not align  across the river, they probably routed stock along the sandy river bed at that point – I have attached one six maps screen clip for the northern side and one for the southern side.

So it may mean u need to run the b-doubles along the river bed, just as they used to drive the stock!!! Would be interesting!!!

It is probable that there was once a more direct crown land road reservation to the ford but it has been subsumed in government sales of the reservations, which looks likely on the southern side where most of the road reservations are now in private hands.

Additional comment – it would be nice if there was access one side or the other to establish a safe swimming area (weir?) which is close to highway somewhere along this beautiful area – would add to the local amenity.   There are plenty of access points close to the highway via crown land when you look at these maps  

Cheers

---------------------------------------------------------------

Graeme Freedman Owner Builder Number: 464033P 

39 Link Rd, Wandella, Australia, 2550

Mobile: ‪+61 (0) 4031 13624 

 <mailto:graeme.freedman at dotindot.com> mailto:graeme.freedman at dotindot.com 

ABN: ‪36 241 512 918

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From: Community <community-bounces at brogo.org.au> On Behalf Of L.Blazki
Sent: Saturday, 4 June 2022 9:24 PM
To: The Brogo Community Mailing List <community at brogo.org.au>
Cc: Quaama List <quaamacommunity at scpa.org.au>; Cobargo community <cobargocommunity at scpa.org.au>; Bermi List <bermaguicommunity at scpa.org.au>
Subject: Re: [Brogo Community] [Quaama Community] Brogo Bridge

Thanks for all that info Graeme, I'm particularly impressed you managed to identify my vague landmarking considering the "swimming hole" was full of sand last time I saw it... If the b double we send over the old ford had one of those double decker car trailers, then if it failed to cross the ford we would still succeed in creating a new bypass bridge during the roadworks... 

Who owns the river though Vicky??The ford of the proposed crossing/bogged truck bridge is not on the highway but the river itself, the approach looks like private land (unnamed road), but is the river controlled by the water board or the queen or parks or council?? I'd hate to think of the queens laws on river fords, we may have to find some peasants to lay across the river to keep our carriage wheels from dampening...

But it would've been a good idea though Graeme, to actually reinstate the ford with a concrete weir or something that could've served as a temporary bypass for local traffic when/if it wasn't in flood. Lots of things would've been good ideas if they could bypass the beauracracy of centralised control systems, but instead we will have to sit in our carriages and wait for the lights to turn green or for the peasants to turn up and lay over for us... Oh the inconvenience!!

Love and space from Loki 

On 4 Jun 2022, at 2:15 PM, <graeme.freedman at dotindot.com <mailto:graeme.freedman at dotindot.com> > <graeme.freedman at dotindot.com <mailto:graeme.freedman at dotindot.com> > wrote:

Loki

For those crazy enough to be interested in in this discussion I can give you the google maps link to what appears to once have been the Princes Highway ford on the Brogo River upstream of the existing bridge.

Loki - I assume this is the bypass you refer to – once used as a Princes Highway bypass - it connects Baldwins road to Blanchard’s road.  Have a look in Google maps.  It looks like the linking road is the Old Princes Highway but is shown in Google maps as “unnamed road”.

Link is https://www.google.com/maps/@-36.5272787,149.8178091,1268m/data=!3m1!1e3!5m1!1e4

Exact lat/long for Ford (current swimming hole?) is -36.52673303590641, 149.8133544917207

Maybe we should ask the council to re-establish this ford as a backup to the bridge when it gets (regularly) gets knocked out by accident or old age???  I am sure we could get a  B double through!!

Cheers

---------------------------------------------------------------

Graeme Freedman Owner Builder Number: 464033P 

39 Link Rd, Wandella, Australia, 2550

Mobile: ‪+61 (0) 4031 13624 

 <mailto:graeme.freedman at dotindot.com> mailto:graeme.freedman at dotindot.com 

ABN: ‪36 241 512 918

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From: Community <community-bounces at brogo.org.au <mailto:community-bounces at brogo.org.au> > On Behalf Of L.Blazki
Sent: Saturday, 4 June 2022 12:21 PM
To: The Brogo Community Mailing List <community at brogo.org.au <mailto:community at brogo.org.au> >
Subject: Re: [Brogo Community] [Quaama Community] Brogo Bridge

I heard that while the bridge was being rebuilt in the 30s the highway was diverted over that little swimming spot as you come in on blanchards, I think this was all before they had cleared the pass and the highway used to go up blanchards and connect onto warrigal range somewhere... I think it's nice having old narrow bridges left around the shire, it reminds people that their precious development and need for speed was until recently considered a luxury not an essential social need, it's a legacy of the world we are slowly relegating to museums and history as a novelty of our pre civilised societies, the spectacle of incredible labour power and community fortitude that built these bridges becomes replaced with the utilitarian functionality of concrete and steel mined and processed from allover the world to be instead representative of the colonising effects of global capitalism, spreading more tar and concrete to increase the speed of economic flow. In 2122 when whatever is left of humanity is staring at a twisted chunk of concrete and steel weathered by 100 years of extreme weather events, they will look at these monuments of moloch and wonder what on earth it's purpose ever was, only the dead men and women in their crypts of cracked glass and concrete would beable to explain to them why...

Rants aside, they seem to be doing an alright job, I'd love to see it turn back into a river crossing but if it wasn't enough in the 30s it sure isn't now, we could potentially make a bridge from all the bogged trucks though, guess bridge upgrades are better than filling up the rivers with trucks and cars if we put it all in perspective, but if we were really so "developed" where's my bloody spaceship flying car or teleporter? I think they are too busy trying to make diamonds out of climate change (as in they literally are trying to scale compressing carbon into diamonds in order to monetise what is popularly called "climate action")...

As an alternative I propose we find a town Gandalf to guard the pass and levitate sanctioned commuters from one side to the other? Seems just as plausible as this "let's try and please everyone by throwing some band aids on this old bridge until people eventually form consensus that the dignams bypass doesn't look like an an airport and that we are more then happy to have another landing strip bridging the waterways of the region" style of approach. Anyway it's far from its first surgery, how historic is a historic bridge that has been renovated atleast 4-5 times since? I think it's an interesting issue, ultimately boiling down to what our individual values of progress and development are, but ultimately everyone uses the bridge (except that bloke buzzing around with the fan) regardless of whether they see it as a historic monument or a piece of infrastructure that needs upgrading, I think the collective concern should be around how can they put so much money into CBD development in Merimbula, but one of the most trafficked bridges in the region will just be "good to go" for another few years... Hope everyone's enjoying their 10 minute pit stop at the pass anyway,

Love and space from Loki 

On 4 Jun 2022, at 10:59 AM, Gerry Theodorakis <gerry.theodorakis01 at gmail.com <mailto:gerry.theodorakis01 at gmail.com> > wrote:

Re alignment & bridge replacement imperative before a major catastrophe !!  

Billions of tax based $$$ lost every year via tax minimising schemes ( scams ) - perfect funding for both of the nasty & narrow bridges between Brogo River & Bega.

On Sat, 4 Jun 2022, 9:51 am ‪‪Graeme.freedman at dotindot.com <mailto:Graeme.freedman at dotindot.com> , <Graeme.freedman at dotindot.com <mailto:Graeme.freedman at dotindot.com> > wrote:

Don - thanks for the history of the bridge - does anyone know what happened to the traffic between 1934 and the rebuild in 1937 - or did they just cut off bega from the rest of the coast? Sounds like that might happen anyway if they have no plans to replace it now it is 30 odd years past its design life and a constant danger because of its width and poor alignment - does anyone have a history of accidents on the bridge? Might be worth putting pressure on the authority's to get the narrow prince's highway bridges replaced - need some background work done 

------------------------------------------

Graeme Freedman
Owner Builder Number: 464033P
39 Link Rd, Wandella 2550 
Mobile: ‪+61 (0) 4031 13624
mailto:graeme.freedman at dotindot.com <mailto:graeme.freedman at dotindot.com> 
ABN: ‪36 241 512 918

-------- Original message --------
From: Don Firth <donaldofirth at gmail.com <mailto:donaldofirth at gmail.com> >
Date: Sat, 4 Jun 2022, 8:07 am
To: Mailing list for the Brogo Community <community at brogo.org.au <mailto:community at brogo.org.au> >, Quaama List <quaamacommunity at scpa.org.au <mailto:quaamacommunity at scpa.org.au> >, Cobargo community <cobargocommunity at scpa.org.au <mailto:cobargocommunity at scpa.org.au> >, Bermi List <bermaguicommunity at scpa.org.au <mailto:bermaguicommunity at scpa.org.au> >
Subject: [Quaama Community] Brogo Bridge

Update on repairs- Yesterday they finished repairing the downstream side of the bridge and have now moved on to the more extensively damaged upstream side. 

So, they are about halfway given the extensive scaff.

It is a venerable bridge completed at the end of 1937. It was then the longest bridge of its type in the Southern Hemisphere. It replaced the upstream 1885 timber trestle bridge (with double diagonal planking) which was washed away in floods of 1934. 

The current concrete and steel structure was built to have a lifespan of 60 years! Its design does not allow for it to be widened so eventually .......

Don

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