No decision has yet been made on what will happen to the timber from the historic twin bridges at Kurow once they are demolished.
The single-lane bridges, across the Waitaki River, will be replaced by two-lane structures. Construction could start in 2012 and be completed by 2014 if funding was available.
An article in the Kurow community newsletter Bugle said the bridges had played a "huge part" in the history of developing the Waitaki Valley.
The old bridges, which were originally built for both road and rail traffic, opened in 1881.
It was time to plan how best to commemorate the "noble" structures and preserve their timber to form lasting reminders and ideas were being sought, the article said.
When contacted, New Zealand Transport Agency South Canterbury area manager Colin Hey said there had been plenty of expressions of interest in the timber but no decisions had been made.
It was expected the first call for any sound timber would be for the local authority for bridging or structural work and that would probably be in conjunction with Historic Places Trust requirements.
Some sort of interpretative structure would be installed, or a memento of the old bridges. It was anticipated that various proposals from different organisations would then be looked at.
