THE Yorta Yorta Nation Aboriginal Corporation has weighed into the Yarrawonga-Mulwala replacement bridge saga at the 11th hour with evidence one of the two routes under serious consideration is a known Aboriginal burial site.
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The Victorian and NSW governments are on the brink of making an announcement about the favoured option for the Lake Mulwala crossing which needs to be completed by 2020 when the alternative weir access road is closed.
The grey route, which is located alongside the existing bridge linking the two towns, has emerged as the front-runner in recent times.
But The Border Mail has obtained a letter from the Yorta Yorta corporation sent to the Victorian Government last week raising cultural heritage concerns with the grey route.
Mulwala is built on sandhills which are a known burial ground for Yorta Yorta people.
Yorta Yorta chief executive Tom Day said in his letter to Victorian Upper House MP Jaclyn Symes the existing bridge must also stay to prevent further disturbance of known ancestral burial grounds.
NSW roads minister Duncan Gay said in state parliament recently the grey route had been backed by his state's roads authority, Roads and Maritime Services.
VicRoads has been in charge of the project since its inception nearly a decade ago.
The Andrews Labor Government has not committed to a preferred route for nearly a year since coming to power after the former Coalition government backed the green route.
Mr Day couldn't be contacted for comment on Sunday.
But in his letter to Ms Symes he produced evidence of a body being discovered in the existing bridge's construction in the early 1920s.
"Government will be well aware of the significant delays regarding the Echuca-Moama bridge due to the threat to culturally sensitive sandhills," he wrote.
"This area needs to be protected by leaving the existing bridge insitu and avoiding ground disturbance in this area to prevent further impacts to Yorta Yorta ancestral burial grounds."
The Green Route Community Group has described the Yorta Yorta concerns as a "game changer" in the long-running debate.
"One of the first questions we asked when we met with VicRoads and RMS 18 months ago was have they done a risk analysis on each of the proposed routes taking into account the safety issues, extra financial costs and the cultural and heritage issues which have just arisen," spokesman John Lawless said.
"They' have got some explaining to do to their respective roads ministers."
