Push is on for arched bridge
A planned new cycle and pedestrian bridge across the Manawatū River at Ashhurst is currently enjoying second-equal top spot on Horizons Regional Council’s priority list for transport investment.
But some submitters to the mid-term review of the region’s transport priorities say it should not even be there.
Not because it is not wanted, as it is. But because building it is a legal requirement of the resource consents allowing construction of Te Ahu a Turanga Manawatū to Tararua Highway.
Palmerston North City Council, adamant its case for funding for a regional freight ring road around the city should be top priority, has argued against having to share second place with the Manawatū River cycleway bridge.
In its submission, mayor Grant Smith said the council strongly supported the project that would connect to the shared pathway alongside the new highway. “It was an outcome driven by the community and supported by the evidence and the decision on the Te Ahu a Turanga designation process.”
It was therefore part of that project, and should be considered a committed project which did not require the regional council’s advocacy as a priority.
Even so, NZ Transport Agency/Waka Kotahi has still not secured Government funding approval for the $37.1 million project.
Horizons draft plan acknowledged that secured funding for the bridge and cycleway was a requirement of consent conditions for the Te Ahu a Turanga, and that the highway would not be able to open without confirmed funding and planning for the project.
It was therefore a crucial element of the opening of the highway, and that was why the regional council was proposing its high priority ranking.
The agency had initially planned to provide cycle and pedestrian clip-ons on the existing SH3 bridge to overcome the dangers for vulnerable users having to share the traffic lanes with fast-moving trucks and cars.
However, subsequent investigations revealed that option was not viable, and a separate bridge would be needed.
The plan was for a “network arch” style of bridge, similar to one at Upokongaro across the Whanganui River.
The new bridge would form part of the Ashhurst to Western Gateway shared use path, linking it to the western approach to the new highway and to Te Āpiti/the Manawatū Gorge.
The path would be 2.5 metres wide. The bridge would be 143 metres long to span the river, and would be built with its deck at the same height as the existing road bridge.
The preferred bridge design would involve only two piers at the edge of the river to minimise intrusion into the waterway.
No date had been set for starting construction, but it was unlikely it would be open in time for the opening of Te Ahu a Turanga.
The pathway was also being designed to become part of a “Three Bridges” loop track around Ashhurst, down to the river terrace, across the Saddle Rd bridge, back along the east side of the river to the new highway bridge, to Te Āpiti and the new cycle and pedestrian bridge.