Urgent call for repair of bridge

Willowbridge farmer Murray Bruce (at rear) and Dave Thomas, of Mosgiel, inspect damage to...
Willowbridge farmer Murray Bruce (at rear) and Dave Thomas, of Mosgiel, inspect damage to Bradshaws Bridge yesterday. Photo by Sally Rae.
The closure of Bradshaws Bridge, near Waimate, since recent flooding is a "disgrace", local farmer Murray Bruce says.

He said yesterday the Waimate District Council should listen to those with local knowledge "or they are going to put ratepayers in debt for a century if they go ahead with some hare-brained scheme".

A meeting was held at Willowbridge on Wednesday night and a committee formed, which included Mr Bruce, to liaise with the council and impress upon it the urgency of having the bridge repaired.

The committee hoped to come up with an acceptable way in terms of cost of repairing the damaged bridge over the Waihao River.

"I think that it's very, very repairable and not at a huge cost," Mr Bruce said.

He believed the council should urgently seek submissions from the committee and others, including Environment Canterbury engineers, hold an emergency council meeting and make a decision on the most cost-effective approach.

If the council was worried about money, it should "get it done" and then pay for it later.

The council was not listening to local opinion, he said.

Mr Bruce, who has lived all his life in the area, said the closure was an inconvenience for farmers - who were forced to take detours - and recreational users of the Waihao Box area, and was "totally unacceptable".

The Waihao Box was a very popular recreational area in Waimate and there was a "tremendous" amount of traffic, particularly in spring and summer.

When contacted yesterday, the council's roading assets manager, Rob Moffat, said the doors to the council were "open" and anyone with concerns was welcome to discuss the issue with staff.

He had only heard from one ratepayer on the issue, although he understood approaches had been made to councillors.

An excavator had cleared debris from the bridge and the council was waiting for a structural engineer to have another look at it.

The council would then decide whether it needed to install a temporary bridge.

While the council regretted the inconvenience to several landowners, as well as recreational users, detours were "not super large".

"If people were trapped in there and didn't have a detour and lots of families were affected, the urgency would be even more. They can get out," Mr Moffat said.

A temporary bridge might be an option while the future of the bridge was being decided, he said.

sally.rae@odt.co.nz

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