New bridge vandalised by ‘morons’

Tony Asquith waited years for a new bridge in Christchurch’s red zone after the old one was destroyed in the 2011 earthquakes but it took just a few days before the new one was damaged too.

Asquith was ‘‘absolutely disgusted’’ when he found the Medway St bridge had been vandalised during one of his regular walks around the red zone last week.

The original bridge became a symbol of the 2011 earthquakes after it was twisted and warped by the shakes.

The new bridge opened on May 6 but ‘‘morons have already visited’’ and covered it in graffiti within a few days.

‘‘I can’t understand the mentality of some people,’’ Asquith said.

Christchurch City Council head of parks Andrew Rutledge said the council was ‘‘extremely disappointed’’ by the vandalism.

‘‘Sadly, graffiti is an ongoing challenge for all structures accessible to the public,’’ he said.

Asquith said the graffiti took away from the area’s ‘‘wonderful wildness’’.

He had spoken to many locals who were also looking forward to the new bridge opening, he said.

The Medway St bridge is one of three new pedestrian and cycle bridges built in the Ōtākaro Avon River corridor. The other two are at Snell Place and a new riverside landing at Dallington.

The bridges were funded by a $13.7 million grant from the Christchurch Earthquakes Appeal Trust.

Designs were revealed in 2020 and work started last year.

All three would provide cross-connections for neighbouring communities and anyone else using the area.

Council residential red zone manager Dave Little said the Snell Place bridge would open on May 27 after a soft opening the week prior when the site fences would be removed.

Rutledge said the bridges had all been designed with an anti-graffiti coating, meaning that the removal of tags was ‘‘relatively easy’’ using a cleaning product and water.

He said the job had been logged with a contractor and the graffiti on the Medway St Bridge would be removed soon.

‘‘Sadly, graffiti is an ongoing challenge for all structures accessible to the public.’’ Andrew Rutledge Christchurch City Council head of parks

JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/STUFF Christchurch local Tony Asquith has been waiting years for the new Medway St bridge to open and is disappointed to see it vandalised within days.