“Traffic was moved onto the new Burrill Lake Bridge on Friday 29 September, allowing work to start on the removal of the old bridge and causeway,” a Roads and Maritime Services spokesperson said. 

Preparations included cutting the deck into sections ahead of the bridge being demolished.

“A 100 tonne crane is now on site and work to remove larger sections of the old bridge started [on October 19],” the spokesperson said.

“These sections, some weighing up to 12-tonne, will be removed by trucks from the site.

“Removing the bridge will take around two weeks to complete and include removal of supporting piles underneath the lake bed.

“Work will then start on removing the old causeway.

“The bridge and causeway are on track to be removed and the lake opened, by the summer holiday period.”

Environmental controls, including silt curtains, are in place to ensure high levels of water quality are maintained while the work is under way.

The southern end of the existing causeway will remain in place and turned into a fishing platform.