No handrails, no problem, says council

The lack of handrails on the new Archers Bridge across the Kai Iwi stream at Mowhanau Beach is not worrying the local community and it fits within local authority design regulations.
A caller to the Chronicle yesterday expressed alarm that the recently completed bridge does not have handrails.

But Shaun Forlong, deputy chair of the Wanganui District Council's rural community board and a Mowhanau Beach resident, said the bridge was within council height restrictions and therefore handrails were not required.

"The fact there are no handrails isn't an issue, not at all. The locals were fully aware it wasn't going to have handrails," Mr Forlong said.

The new $115,000 bridge replaces the one washed away in the 2006 floods and was completed in July.

Mr Forlong said it was designed so any future floodwaters would flow over it.

"The piers are bolted down to piles and if a big log comes down in floodwaters it would hit the concrete slab decking.

"They're designed so that if anything hits them the slabs simply dislodge and let the log through. They can retrieve the slab after the flood. It's to make it as flood-proof as possible."

The old bridge stood much higher and it hand handrails. Engineers argued that the handrails trapped debris and that was a major reason for the bridge being washed away.

Mr Forlong said the community was consulted at length on the design of the new bridge and council authorised and finalised the design.

"We were kept informed right the way through and kept people informed all the way through and certainly I haven't fielded any complaints from any local resident," he said.

"But it's in the design parameters and anyone using the bridge should take due care. If you're taking little children across, you hold their hand," he said.

 "The original design called for a high bridge but it was decided there was no use putting up another one only to have it knocked down in the next big flood," Mr Forlong said.

Wanganui Mayor Michael Laws said advice the council had received was that the structure was safe.

"It has the support of all interested parties including the Mowhanau community that it is intended to primarily serve," Mr Laws said.

"Advice from our engineers is that no danger exists. We are expecting people to demonstrate caution as they would on any structure that crosses water," he said.