AFTER five years of restoration work, the historic Carpenter Rocks bridge will be officially unveiled by Grant District Mayor Richard Sage on today.
Built in 1890, the bridge served as part of the main route into the seaside town until the 1960s when the current Carpenter Rocks Road was constructed.
“It is one of only a few stone foundation bridges left in South Australia,” Carpenter Rocks Progress Association president Terryl Allen told The Border Watch.
“It is a little piece of history left behind for us and we thought to restore it for the enjoyment of the community and visitors.”
According to Ms Allen, the project took almost five years to complete and was a joint effort between the progress association and community members.
“We had to restore the stonework and timber planks, which took some time,” she said.
“We used old Port MacDonnell jetty planks for the top sections of the bridge, which worked very well.
“The railings are painted white to match their original colour and a few timber tables and chairs will be added for visitors to relax on.”
Ms Allen said the past five years saw “many working bees” with the community pulling together to restore something that was precious to them.
“Our local restoration coordinator Ian Hookings has been instrumental in the restoration process as a whole,” she said.
“The next step would be to construct a walkway from the bridge through the old creek bed to the beach.
“We will start the planning process after the official opening on today.”
