Environmental advocacy group EcoNetwork-Port Stephens says it welcomes Port Stephens Council's decision to install an InQuik Bridge over the gaping culvert in Mambo Wetlands.

Work is scheduled to begin in mid-November with the project expected to be complete by the end of December.

The group added that an environmental assessment of the entire Mambo Wanda Wetlands was overdue and called on the council to initiate such an assessment as well as update its 2006 Plan of Management.

The culvert was one of the first structures in Port Stephens that was reported to have received major damage in the record rainfall and flood event that struck the region in March. The roadway has been closed to traffic ever since.

EcoNetwork president Iain Watt said that the bridge would be far more practical and environmentally beneficial than the two-box culvert design preferred by council among options outlined in a 2018 Environmental Impact Assessment.

"The March storm that caused the collapse of the culvert and road structure meant council could, fortuitously, take advantage of emergency funding to build something bigger and better," he said.

"EcoNetwork has always supported the idea of a Bailey bridge with a shared path for cyclists and pedestrians similar to what council has chosen for the culvert.

"We agree with the recent Review of Environmental Factors (RFF) that the bridge will allow increased tidal connectivity between the Mambo wetland and Salamander Bay, assisting with flushing and overall improved water quality in the wetland, improved fish passage and spawning.

"There is a need to also clear the 'stinky creek' culvert to assist in improving the overall health of the wetland. We note that the REF recommends that no koala feed trees be removed as part of the bridge works."

Mr Watt said that while the bridge would resolve the issue of tidal flow in Mambo Creek, an environmental assessment of the entire Mambo Wanda Wetlands was overdue.

"Much preparatory work has been done to have the wetlands listed as a Ramsar site," he said. "Ideally, council should update and amend the 2006 Plan of Management to ensure it meets Ramsar Convention requirements. Failing that, an agreed management plan should be investigated as that is all that may be needed to pursue Ramsar listing."

The bridge, manufactured in Tomago, will have a 2.4m footpath on the downstream side of bridge safe pedestrian access.

Crews are expected to establish the work site at the end of October, with piling for the bridge starting mid-November and the lowering of the pre-fabricated bridge in mid-December 2021.

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