Bridge changes after rider breaks arm
A “lively” cycle suspension bridge on the Great Taste Trail is being improved after a rider broke their arm while crossing it.
The accident on the C.B. Kidson bridge over the Waimea River in February was one of four reported during the past year.
The rider reported to the Tasman District Council that the bridge began to sway badly as other cyclists came on to it.
“I was thrown off my bike into the side of the bridge. My arm was caught in the bridge’s side mesh and my upper humerus is broken in three places,” the cyclist said in a report presented to the council’s operations committee.
The incident followed a January 15 accident when a rider suffered severe bruising from their foot slipping when attempting to stop to let another party through; an incident in December 2023 when a rider suffered a dislocated shoulder and fracture and a March 2023 accident when a cyclist had bruises and a cut to the hand when they rode into the side railing.
Three of the accidents involved e-bikes. Deputy mayor Stuart Bryant told the committee that he had walked over the bridge recently, and it swayed much more than the newer bridge at Baton Valley.
Council transportation manager Jamie McPherson said swing bridges were “lively structures”, but the recent accident had prompted a review to see what could be done to make the Waimea bridge more stable. He said a torsion bar to stiffen the bridge that was incorporated in the council’s latest Baton Bridge design had been considered but not progressed because of the significant cost.
The council had tested the movement on the Waimea River bridge with “two energetic teenagers on mountain bikes”, and discovered the rotational roll of the deck was likely to be the key issue.
It had tested tying the bridge’s vertical cables to the handrail stanchions and saw a marked improvement.
The council said it planned to undertake the stabilising work this financial year if operational budgets allowed.
Additional warning signage would be installed recommending cyclists walk their bikes across the bridge.
The bridge was opened in 2013.