Clean-up confusion on bridge

Graffiti on the infamous Montague Street Bridge will be removed by the Department of Transport and Yarra Trams after a local resident alleged that “no one wanted to take responsibility” for it.

Brian Kelly, who lives directly next to the bridge in Montague Towers, said he had been “given the runaround” from various bodies about longstanding graffiti on the bridge, which he said was constantly “tagged and re-tagged”.

After reporting damage of the bridge and surrounding walls in November, Mr Kelly claimed he was hand-balled between Yarra Trams and VicRoads, before he eventually asked the City of Port Phillip about the matter.

“No one wants to take responsibility for the bridge,” he said.

When contacted by Southbank News, Gateway Ward councillor Marcus Pearl said he was aware of issues at the bridge, and had asked council officers to organise a clean-up.

But the council later confirmed it was not their asset, and would not be cleaning the area.

It was eventually confirmed that the bridge was managed by Yarra Trams.

A Department of Transport spokesperson said the defacement would be addressed.

“We’ll work with Yarra Trams to remove graffiti from the bridge,” the spokesperson said.

“Any graffiti which could be considered racist, offensive or have road safety implications is removed as soon as possible from our road network or any of our assets such as bridges and signs.”

The bridge itself has been subject to media scrutiny for years, as its low height clearance of three metres has often seen trucks and larger vehicles collide with it.

But for locals like Mr Kelly, it has become an eyesore.