Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs LoadingBut the council’s opposition leader, Jared Cassidy, said the plea to the Australian government was too little, too late.“If they know that this project is too big and the damage is too much, they would have known that for some time,” he said.“This now just today smacks of a political fight that [Schrinner] wants to have with the federal Labor government.”He said the Story Bridge, which officially opened in 1940, had been identified as an “at-risk structure” since 2016.The council said it had allocated $875,000 in the current budget for repair work on the bridge, as part of a $78 million pledge made in 2019 to restore the structure over five years.The repairs, which have involved progressively stripping back old paint and applying new protective coatings, revealed major complexities, Schrinner said.Rusted steel plates and rivets needed to be replaced, he said, and damage caused by salt air corrosion and general ageing of the 84-year-old structure needed to be addressed.Rust and damage caused by the bridge’s environment – including salt in the air – would cost millions in restorations on the 84-year-old structure.Credit: Brisbane City CouncilBut Cassidy said that “as costs blew out, [the] council decided it wasn’t as important as other projects they had in mind”.He said only 20 per cent of the expected restorative works had been done in the five-year time frame, and the council had no intention of committing more funding.“I would think at some point over the last five years after scratching away layers of 80-year-old paint, they’d have realised something was wrong before 2024,” Cassidy said.More than 100,000 vehicles cross the Story Bridge each day, with over 40 per cent of those starting their journey outside Brisbane, the council said.Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
