“I cycled over it to great effect”
Perhaps you can ‘lead’ the campaign for a new bridge?!
Clearly the bridge won’t be restored - difficult and v expensive.
Apart from heritage/sentiment there is no need for something engineered to take the weight of a train.
As it’s Council owned, presume there is no question of insurance?
Question now is whether any Government body (or front organisation like ‘Sustrans’) will declare it to be vital transport/tourism infrastructure and promise to replace ASAP??
Richard Lochhead, local MSP, (mentioned in BBC article) could be key - “Minister for Business and Employment” since 2023.
There’s an election coming…