This week's meeting of the Lawrence-Tuapeka Community Board decided the Clutha District Council's assets committee should determine whether the bridge should be moved to Lawrence and used on a Gabriel's Gully walking track.
However, the Tuapeka River Gold Trail working party is also claiming rights to the bridge.
Trust spokesman Rodger Hodgkinson, in a letter to Clutha Mayor Juno Hayes, said the bridge was to be incorporated into the future Tuapeka Mouth walkway project.
Mr Hodgkinson argued the 100-year-old bridge was part of Tuapeka Mouth's heritage.
"The normally accepted convention in regard to such historic artefacts is that they should be kept and displayed locally, as that is only where they have their historic relevance," he wrote.
The district assets committee will make the final decision on September 2.
