Melbourne 'love locks' live on as art

Melbourne's love is being ground down and put in concrete - but it's not as sinister as it sounds.

The 20,000 "love locks" cut from a Melbourne footbridge amid safety concerns in 2015 will now have their final resting place in sculpture and jewellery projects by Victorian artists.

They will be filed down into dust and mixed with concrete to make sculptures, necklaces and brooches, and even as a cast to make porcelain replicas.

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle says the art projects will create a meaningful and lasting legacy for romantic Melburnians.

"When dealing with the same phenomenon, many cities around the world simply cut the locks off and threw them away," he said.

"But this is Melbourne, and we wanted to honour the love that these locks represented to thousands of people.