The bridge’s proposed location was subject to an Aboriginal Land Claim and as such, Goulburn Mulwaree Council had no consent for construction.

Residents along Oallen Ford Road have been anticipating the bridge upgrade for years.

At present, trucks over five tonnes are required to find alternative routes to Goulburn, Nowra and Moss Vale – nearly doubling their journey.

Furthermore, the existing Oallen Ford Bridge is closed on average two or three times a year due to flooding.

“We can’t get over the stupidity,” Windellama resident and Progress Association vice president Leanne Lourigan said.

“People I spoke to, they couldn’t believe something like this could happen. I would have thought the first thing you do when you’re going to build something is make sure the land is yours to build on.

“We’re lucky, I guess, they found this out before they knocked the bridge down.”

Council’s general manager Warwick Bennett discovered the oversight on Friday, just a few days before construction crews were to start on-site work on the $2.6 million project.

However Mr Bennett, in a report to councillors for their meeting tomorrow night, reveals the contractor has “already completed beams at his site in Newcastle”.

“The good news is that the contractor has already deployed his staff to another project so this will reduce our exposure to additional costs,” Mr Bennett wrote.

Construction – which was due to start last Wednesday - now hinges on discussion with the Pejar, Ulladulla and NSW Land Councils.

Work might not start until early next year.

The council director who was in the charge of the project, Terry Cooper, no longer works for Goulburn Mulwaree.

The budgeted two-lane bridge will run over the Shoalhaven River and join Goulburn Mulwaree Council land with Palerang territory.

Helen Rolland, president of the Nerriga Progress Association, resides on the eastern side of the existing Oallen Ford Bridge.

While she concedes roadusers are disappointment, there’s an element of relief about the delay.

“I’m stunned. I hate it when heads roll, but you would’ve thought something like this would have been checked,” she said on Friday.

“A lot of people will be relieved in some ways. People were concerned about the closure.

If they have to go Goulburn or Nowra for work, they’d have to either take four weeks’ holiday or go the long way around.”

Mr Bennett last week said the error could cost ratepayers half-a-million dollars.

“Council could aim for a land swap that would allow the bridge to remain on the proposed alignment and the existing road reserve area to be given to the Crown Lands in exchange for the proposed alignment,” he wrote in his report to councillors.

“This process could take considerable time.”

The other option, he said, would be to: “Develop the bridge approaches and locate the bridge on the existing road alignment. This would require significant cut into the land area involving substantial batters that would go outside the road reserve area into adjacent Crown Land. The deepest part of the cut would be nine metres.”