A FIVE-tonne load limit placed on Broke’s Herbert Street bridge has angered locals.

Yesterday, Singleton Council’s director assets and facilities Gary Thomson said Council had placed the five-tonne restriction due to structural concerns.

A detour via Broke and Putty Roads will act as an alternative with the new limit in place indefinitely.

Herbert Street bridge is one of two in the Singleton district with Bourke’s Crossing Bridge over Glendonbrook also having the same limit imposed while works are carried out.

Broke Fordwich Tourism Association secretary Mike Wilson says lack of consultation from Council with locals about the load limit has many upset.

“We’re quite angry, we weren’t told about it,” Mr Wilson said this week.

“It means buses, tourist buses and school buses, cattle trucks, grape trucks, water trucks all won’t be able to use the bridge,” he said.

He also said the limit would affect businesses particularly the wine growers along Milbrodale Road and he didn’t understand why the bridge suddenly now had a five tonne limit.

“We don’t rely massively on tourist buses but we’d like to attract more,” Mr Wilson said.

“The bridge was okay six months ago when Council carried out repairs and maintenance.

“Six months ago it was fine and now there’s a five tonne load limit.”

Catherine Vale Vineyard owner Wendy Lawson agreed the community should have been consulted and said she was unaware if her business could continue to use the bridge.

“Council should have held a community meeting and discussed it and given an indication of what vehicles it’s going to limit,” Mrs Lawson said.

“On the weekend we had a tourist bus that visited four of the cellar doors whether the bus is five tonne, I don’t know, but it certainly could have a detrimental affect if large buses couldn’t go across (the bridge),” she said.

Mrs Lawson said to use the detour it would add an extra 45 minutes for those wanting to go to Pokolbin from Broke.

Mr Thomson said a report on the future of both bridges would be presented to Council in a fortnight’s time.

“Our options would be either to continue maintaining the bridges or looking at replacing them,” he said.