Fitzroy Crossing's Old Crossing will remain closed for the indefinite future as the money to fix it is "better spent elsewhere". Speaking on Wangki Radio the President of the Shire of Derby / West Kimberley, Geoff Haerewa said that the bridge was closed due to structural issues caused by years of flooding events. While acknowledging the community interest in reopening the bridge, the Shire President said that council can't afford the potential bill "the risk assessment [needed to start repairs] cost's around $300,000 - $500,000" he said "The matter was debated by council, however, it was felt the money could be better spent elsewhere".

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When pressed on whether the Shire would respond differently if the Old Crossing was in Derby, Councillor Haerewa said that the response would be the same "to be able to spend that kind of money when we have so many other issues around our Shire, I think it would be silly of us to spend this money on one piece of infrastructure, when we could get better value elsewhere" he said "at the end of the day, we simply don't have the money to repair it" . 

The Derby Wharf Revitalisation Project currently has close to $1 million set aside in the Shire of Derby / West Kimberley's 2018-19 budget. When asked about whether the Shire is governing for just Derby and forgetting about the Fitzroy Valley, Mr Haerewa disagreed "We're not forgetting about the infrastructure in Fitzroy Crossing, remember it was closed for safety concerns" he said "We are trying to look at the insurer to see what we can get out of them, and maybe do something with that".

The Shire is looking into installing bollards to block access to the Old Crossing area for all vehicles.