Bridge safety troubles for Balfour farmers
The Southland District Council has raised concerns about the impact of bridge safety upgrades for Southland farmers.
The matter was raised in council a week ago, when council was updated on the options for upgrading the Keowns Bridge near Balfour.
The Keowns Bridge guardrail is set to be replaced, but the new design is expected to disrupt farmers using the bridge to move both stock and machinery.
The wooden guardrail is flared away from the bridge at a height of 1.4 metres.
Southland District Council strategic transport manager Hartley Hare said according to NZ Transport Agency safety guidelines, the replacement guardrail would be half the height, positioned closer the road, and would extend vertically at a 90-degree angle from the road.
Hare said the parameters for bridge safety had changed since many of Southland’s bridges were first constructed.
‘‘There are a lot of examples around the district where guard rails are flared out, but none of those systems would meet the requirement for guardrail standards for the safe barrier system.
‘‘What was installed 30 or 40 years ago doesn’t necessarily meet modern standards around road safety, and that’s the standard we’re designing to ... to meet national best practice.’’
Cr Brian Dillon, who farms in the area near the bridge, said the changes would make it difficult for farmers to continue using it. He said the narrower width would make it difficult for farm machinery to cross the bridge, while the decreased height would make it dangerous for stock to cross.
The one-way bridge measures 3.8 metres between the kerbs.
‘‘That’s the problem, it’s a narrower bridge for a start, and right now a lot of the farming machinery is getting bigger,’’ Dillon said. ‘‘It’s also not high enough for when you’re shifting stock.
‘‘If you’ve got traffic coming towards them [while the stock are on the bridge], the sheep can spook and before you know it, they’d be over the rail.’’
Dillon said when it came to renewing the safety features of rural bridges, it needed to be done on a case-by-case basis.
Chief executive Steve Ruru said the issues with the Keowns Bridge could have implications for the entire district.
Ruru said there were 132 oneway bridges in the district that were narrower than 3.8 metres.
‘‘Presumably this issue applies to every single one-lane bridge in Southland, so it’s not just an issue of Keowns Bridge. Not all the other bridges will have the same issue as this, [but we may need to] classify and find out what the extent of these issues are.’’
Mayor Gary Tong said there needed to be a balance between safety standards and the realities of living in a farming community.
‘‘We’ve got an issue down here where we’re a primary industry area, and these bridges are in rural areas. There’s got to be a compromise here for the industry as well.’’
Tong said during his time as a police officer, accidents happening on bridges were rare.
‘‘I’m certainly not minimising the safety side of it there.
‘‘I’ve pulled out a lot of dead bodies from cars a long way from bridges ... but never off a bridge.
‘‘I don’t how many accidents happened on this bridge, but we’ve got to be practical now and for the future of that area as a primary industry area.’’