Time’s not right for new bridge
Pressure is mounting on the Waipa¯ District Council to ‘‘put a pin on the map’’ to show Cambridge’s business community where a third bridge could be built across the Waikato River.
But the council said a third bridge, linking Cambridge and Leamington, would cost between $60 million to $70 million and without a Government subsidy, Waipa¯ ratepayers would have to pay the bill.
Representatives of the council met with Cambridge Chamber of Commerce members, fittingly, at the Bridges Church in Cambridge, recently to talk over the pros and cons of a new bridge.
The meeting was triggered by a poll by the chamber’s chief executive Kelly Bouzaid, who said there appeared to be a ‘‘groundswell’’ of interest in a new bridge to alleviate traffic congestion in the middle of town.
The council’s service delivery manager Dawn Inglis and transport manager Bryan Hudson presented to the meeting.
Inglis said a study by consultants Beca in 2018, showed traffic volumes would not trigger the need for a new bridge until 2048.
Traffic volumes were heavy in the morning and afternoons on Victoria Road Bridge, but the study said more commuters could use the nearby Shakespeare Road Bridge, to travel into town or access the Waikato Expressway.
‘‘Building a bridge and supporting network will be expensive, it is costly,’’ Inglis said.
‘‘The planning to do the work and designate a route is equally significant.
‘‘We need to be sure we get the timing right. We don’t want to go early or get the location wrong and waste the investment from rates.’’
Inglis said the Beca report was the best information the council had at its disposal to make decisions on when and where a new bridge should be constructed.
She said the $60m-$70m cost estimate was for a new bridge next to the existing Victoria Street Bridge, built in 1907.
Inglis said the council was reviewing its transport strategy alongside its review of the long term plan and those would be good opportunities for people to have their say.
She said the council had been working to encourage cycling, walking or public transport, rather than solely focusing on building more road for more cars.
But those at the meeting wanted action and were shocked the council did not even have a preliminary plan for a new bridge.
Speakers pushed council staff, and elected members present, to commit to a location. Leaving it longer would mean the costs would continue to escalate, they said.
There was a feeling the Beca study was out of date now because Cambridge’s population growth had already outstripped forecasts.
Businesses wanted commuter traffic removed from the middle of town otherwise people would travel to Hamilton or Te Awamutu to shop because it was easier to access.
A bridge closer to the north-west edge of town, where major residential development was planned, seemed to have more support than a new one on Victoria Street.
Chamber president Phil McKay noted the Beca study said the Victoria Street Bridge had 20 years life left, around about the same time the study forecast that Cambridge would need a third bridge.
‘‘So in 30 years time we won’t need one more bridge, we will need two more, so I suggest we get moving on planning a new one fairly soon.’’
Bouzaid, at the end of the meeting, invited the council to return in June 2021, when the long term plan and new transport strategy were completed.
‘‘There are a lot of unanswered questions but there appears to be a common thread in the meeting about pin pointing a location for a new bridge.
‘‘Could we ask the council to look at a third option and come back to present that to the group that is here today.’’
‘‘Could we ask the council to look at a third option and come back to present that to the group that is here today.’’
Cambridge Chamber of Commerce chief executive Kelly Bouzaid, pictured right.