Work begins on a sculpture to remember the old Batemans Bay bridge

Sydney based artist and designer Joel Adler was selected to lead the project after an EOI process saw 13 artists from NSW and the ACT submit their designs.

Mr Adler said he expected to use around six tonnes of steel recycled from the old bridge for the artwork.

"The material is being sliced off the bridge using giant shears, which are basically like big pliers," he said.

"The intention is to take the long beams from the main spans of the bridge and mould them to create three large loops."

Read more: Farewell to old Batemans Bay bridge

Once the material is removed from the old bridge, Mr Adler and his team will build much of the sculpture in his Sydney studio before installing it on the south side of the river near the new fishing platform.

"The base of the sculpture will look like the top portion of one of the original spans, and it will have three large interconnecting hoops," Mr Adler said.

"Standing underneath the sculpture, it should look like waves, whereas from another angle it will look quite different."

A Transport for NSW spokesperson said the community had been widely consulted about the plans for the sculpture, and Mr Adler was chosen after his design fit the brief.

"The community has continued to be consulted since 2017 via the foreshore advisory committee and with specific consultation on the foreshore and urban design," the spokesperson said.

"Following this, included in the artists' brief for the artwork design [was] the community's wish for it to include elements of the old bridge, to be a visual marker and for it to be relevant to the area."

READ MORE: Bridge to the future: Community celebrates history set in concrete

Mr Adler said he planned to travel to Batemans Bay every few weeks to see the demolition progress and make sure his measurements were correct.

"We used the original historical drawings of the bridge design in planning for this project, and we've got them up on the studio walls as inspiration and to make sure we capture the history of the bridge," he said.

"Back then they used feet and inches in their designs so we'll be remeasuring to make sure we've got the correct sizes."

Mr Adler is no stranger to projects of this scale, having been part of Sydney's Sculpture by the Sea project in 2019 with his award winning 'Viewfinder' artwork.

"This is quite special because my grandfather lives on the South Coast so I'm familiar with the area," Mr Adler said.

"As part of my research I've spoken to locals about what they'd like to see and read over the community consultation, so I hope people are happy with it."

As the artwork progresses, Transport for NSW will keep the community informed through videos online.

The sculpture is funded as part of the Batemans Bay bridge project.