Wagga City Council resolved on Monday night to retain the eastern pylons due to their heritage value, modifying the original proposal to remove all three sets when the demolition took place.

Former deputy mayor Ray Goodlass, who advocated for retaining the entire bridge structure while on council, is concerned the lone pylon set remaining will become isolated over time.

"In the end, one is better than nothing if a proper job is done of illustrating the bridge's history and significance tied to that one pylon," he said.

"If one pylon is left there in isolation, with no history properly documented around it, then it will be rather forlorn, won't it?"

Mr Goodlass would like to see a museum built near the pylon on the Murrumbidgee River's eastern side to accompany it.

Only retaining one pylon is "a pity", Mr Goodlass said, and council should have done more to preserve the bridge since it took ownership of it in 1999 to avoid it falling into disrepair.

"It's really a tale of neglect going right back to when it was handed over to council's care," he said.

"I think they should've kept all three (pylons) - they should've kept the whole bridge from the get go."

Another advocate for the retention of the bridge's pylons, Russell Meyers, said he couldn't see the point in only keeping one pylon.

"If they ever did decide to build a walkway, that (pylon) would probably be a nuisance and probably end up getting ripped up," he said.

Mr Meyers has called for a new cycleway to be built on the site of the Hampden Bridge once it is demolished, and said the old pylons could have been used for that structure's foundations.

"I can't believe they wouldn't be looking at the big picture," he said.

"It (building the cycleway) doesn't have to happen straight away - wait until we get some funding."