People in central Newfoundland are upset with the provincial government for shutting down a bridge at Badger Lake which provided easy access to cottage country.

Last fall, the Rocky Brook Road Bridge Committee presented government with a proposal to cover the entire cost of replacing the bridge. Residents say the sale and development of additional lots in the area would essentially cover the cost of the bridge.

With the closure of the bridge, seven permanent residents and numerous cottage owners are now left without access to their properties.

Owners say they purchased the lots from Crown Lands in three separate cottage lot draws with the understanding that government was committed to providing direct access to the area via a 1.7 km resource road from the TCH.

Government has told them that since no wood harvesting was being done in the area, a resource road is unnecessary and that a new bridge would be the responsibility of the property owners.