New Murray River bridge at Towong worth $10 million opened

Unlike the Twin Cities bridge launch, which involved the then prime minister John Howard and Victorian premier Steve Bracks, there were no MPs on hand for Towong's big day as its $10 million span opened to traffic.

Instead, the ribbon cutting on July 18, 2023, was done by school children and retired farmer John Whitehead, who was a seven year-old when the original timber-decked bridge opened in October 1938.

The new 58-metre crossing has been built over the past year by Yackandandah company Nelmac Pty Ltd, with its owner Nelson McIntosh, 81, the project manager, also among a crowd estimated at 140 who watched Mr Whitehead speak.

He told of having forded the river on horseback as a child and then looking on from his family property Lighthouse, on the NSW side of the river, as the 1938 crossing was built by Nathalia's HG Thompson.

"The new bridge is pretty fantastic I reckon and I was very lucky to watch them build the first one," Mr Whitehead, who now lives at Corryong, told the onlookers.

"The second one I've come down nearly every weekend and watched the progress.

"Thank you Mr McIntosh for doing a good job, but I think after that, the third bridge, I will give it a miss," the 92 year-old said to laughs at the conclusion of his speech.

Mr Whitehead later told The Border Mail he planned to re-enact his horse-riding days to Towong State School, which closed in 1951, by taking a mount over the new bridge, which was jointly funded by NSW and Victoria.

"That's arranged, one day I'll come and they'll get photos of my riding over," he said.

"I don't do a lot of riding but I still can, it's like riding a bike you don't forget."

For Mr McIntosh it was a proud moment, having also built Howlong's Murray River spans, which opened in 2001.

"There's a lot of people who go through their lifetime and can't see anything for their work, but I can see these monuments," he said.

"I can see 24 bridges on the Hume Highway between Melbourne and Sydney and 22 on the Princes Highway between Melbourne and Batemans Bay."

Among his relatives on hand for the opening was grandson Cameron McIntosh, 11, who souvenired two pieces of the cut-up ribbon.

But not everyone was content at the launch, Towong farmer Mark Auchinleck distributed copies of an invoice he has sent to Transport for NSW for additional fuel costs incurred by his farm manager who lives north of the river.

He argued the property overseer had been unfairly forced to travel an extra 14-kilometres a day and that meant he was owed $600 in compensation and a further $190 for being impeded from travelling between his farms on the Victorian side of the river.

Mr Auchinleck said he had raised the issue with the members for Albury and Benambra as well as Transport for NSW but had failed to have a win.

Incidentally Albury MP Justin Clancy was not invited to the opening and member for Benambra Bill Tilley was asked last Friday to attend, but was unable to be there.

That left Towong Shire mayor Andrew Whitehead and his council colleague Peter Dikschei and Snowy Valleys councillor Julia Ham as the leading dignitaries.

"I think it's fabulous," Cr Ham said of the bridge designed to last a century.

"Of course going 14 months without a bridge, you really have to give credit to the locals who have been patient and to have 140 people coming to the opening it shows how much it means to the community."

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