Town of Wawa building new giant goose roadside attraction

It's hard to miss the giant metalgoose standing next to theTrans-Canada highway in Wawa, Ont.

At 8.5 metrestall, the roadside attraction north of Sault Ste. Marie has been greeting passersby since 1963 and isone of the most photographed landmarks in North America.

But, in the last few years, the Wawa goose has fallen into a state of disrepair.

"He's not in very good shape," said town CAO Chris Wray. "One of the wings is dramatically compromised."

"The back end of the goose is rotting quite a bit too," he added.

Goose replica will cost $230K

The town has hatched aplan to replace the goose with a brand new model.

The hope is to unveil the new goose for Canada's 150th anniversary inJuly of next year.

The community has raised $65,000 and has received an additional$100,000 from the federal government, Wray said.

"If we don't get enough funding or enough donations, we'll simply fund the remainder of it ourselves, because the Wawa goose is Wawa. We can't not have the goose there."

New goose will be exact replica

Wray told CBC News the new goose will be an exact replica of the old one with some minor improvements.

It will likely be made ofstainless steel or brass and be comprised ofdetachable pieces so a wing can easily be removed and replaced.

But what will happen to the old goose?

"I think what we may end up doing is auctioning off pieces of it. It would come with a certificate of authenticity," Wray said.

Wawa, a town with a population of 3,000 people,means "Wild Goose" or "Land of the Big Goose" in Ojibway.

"Can you imagine if you went to Sudbury and the Big Nickel fell down? Or Toronto without the CN tower?" Wray said.

"It's extremely important to the people who live here. It is our identity."