Residents in the North Okanagan are continuing their efforts to see a local bridge preserved after its replacement is built.

Baxter Bridge, a one-lane truss wooden bridge on Trinity Valley Road east of Enderby, is at the end of its lifespan as a load-bearing bridge and is being replaced with a two-lane steel and concrete bridge that's currently being built just upstream of it over the Shuswap River.

A number of local residents have been to have Baxter Bridge kept as a pedestrian crossing, but the Ministry of Transportation has said it is after its replacement is complete, citing safety concerns with the bridge that was built in 1950. 

The residents have safety concerns of their own, saying the new bridge could be unsafe for pedestrians and cyclists due to it only having widened shoulders and no raised sidewalk. 

Despite the ministry being set on demolishing Baxter Bridge, and despite a lack of response from local elected officials, the residents are keeping up the fight. 

A rally was held last week which saw residents bring signs reading "Save Baxter Bridge," which they displayed while standing on the bridge. One of those residents was Greg Robinson, who has lived near Baxter Bridge for 50 years and started the effort to save the bridge.

Robinson said two rallies were held in one day last week, one in the morning and another in the evening, and in total about 110 people took part. 

A petition to save the bridge is also circulating, and Robinson said it will soon be presented to elected officials. 

The problem the residents have encountered is a nearly complete lack of response from elected officials to their emails and phone calls regarding their efforts to save the bridge. The exception is Salmon Arm-Shuswap MLA David Williams, whose office manager, said Robinson, talked to him for 40 minutes over the phone last week. 

Robinson said there are talks about organizing a town hall meeting about the bridge, but added if no elected officials agree to show up and answer questions, it wouldn't be useful. 

Nonetheless, the effort to spare the bridge from the wrecking ball continues to grow. The currently has more than 740 members. 

"A lot of comments and a lot of support," Robinson said of the page.

A new concern is that bats may be nesting beneath the old Baxter Bridge. Robinson says he hasn't seen the bats himself but others in the group have, and he'd like to see that looked at before demolition plans move forward.