The future of the Slaughter Yard Rd bridge at Enfield hinges on how high a priority its replacement is and what funding is available.
The bridge is ''bordering on becoming unsafe'', according to a Waitaki District Council report, and already has a weight and speed limit, although those are being ignored, with ''catastrophic failure an increasing possibility''.
Yesterday, the assets committee decided to look at the council's bridge replacement programme to determine where replacement of the bridge would fit with other priorities.
If the Slaughter Yard Rd bridge clears that hurdle, then whether it is replaced will depend on funding from the New Zealand Transport Agency being available and the council approving its share of the estimated $322,000 total cost.
There were mixed views among councillors about replacing the bridge.
These included issues of better alternative routes, stock movement by farmers adjoining the road, high use during flooding, value for money and other alternatives, from a wash-over culvert to turning it into a cycle-pedestrian bridge which could still be used by stock.
Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher, who was at a meeting last month with residents at Enfield to discuss the bridge, said the council needed to know an accurate cost.
Even with a subsidy from the agency, there was still the decision whether to spend money on that bridge or another.
There was no guarantee at this stage the bridge would be replaced. he said.
