The Bridge Location Action Committee is opposed to the 9a bridge option's low-level structure, and its impact on traffic, parkland, rail and parking.

But Swan Hill Rural City Council Mayor Greg Cruickshank has told The Guardian that alternative plans are too expensive and "would not get built".

Option 9a –- which runs 100 metres south of the existing bridge, through Riverside Park and the swimming pool and comes out at Curlewis Street -- was chosen in April after months of debate at community and government levels.

Now though, the new action committee has presented copies of its petition to the Swan Hill and Wakool councils, calling for the option to be re-thought.

The committee says the 9a option would destroy the ambience and amenity of the river precinct.

"What is the Australia Day breakfast and picnics going to be like with big trucks going right past?" committee member Jim Willox said.

The committee is particularly concerned with B-triples and larger tractors and farm machinery that might have trouble getting on and off the bridge.

For more on this story, see Monday's edition of The Guardian (September 6, 2010).