Source: Radio New Zealand
Work to remove the cables finished on Thursday. Supplied/Horizons Regional Council
Decaying suspension cables have been removed from an historic Manawatū bridge, after one fell into the river below, leaving just two concrete towers standing as reminders of the past.
One of the cables spanning the former Ōpiki toll bridge next to State Highway 56, south of Palmerston North, came down in high winds on New Year’s Eve.
The cable failure was the second in less than two years.
This week, Horizons Regional Council, which now owns the bridge, announced both the bridge’s cables, which were in poor condition, would come down, clearing the path for Manawatū River users and avoiding a costly repair bill.
The removal work finished on Thursday, leaving only the bridge’s concrete pylons remaining.
Horizons central region engineer Paul Arcus said, given the bridge’s importance to the local community and historical value, great care was taken with the removal.
The former toll bridge is no longer connected over the Manawatū River. Supplied/Horizons Regional Council
The tension was removed from the cables, before they were cut at each end and then pulled out using heavy machinery.
“We had to create bespoke clamps to hold on to them,” Arcus said. “They’re definitely constructed in a way that wouldn’t be done these days, so we had to get new things created, so we could hold on to them.”
For now, they’d sit in a paddock next to the bridge site, while their future was decided, Arcus said.
Bits of it would likely be given to community groups or other parties that had expressed an interest.
The removal work cost about $70,000, while repair options could have hit about $130,000, without factoring in extra bills, such as for consenting.
“It’s a little bit out of the council’s wheelhouse of what we do as a core activity and we don’t have funding directly related to historic structures.
“I think the council themselves have decided that this is the sensible solution,” Arcus said.
The bridge was built by the Akers family for their flax business in 1918 and the cabling is said to have been secondhand then – sourced from Waihi’s gold mines.
The flax industry collapsed shortly after, but the bridge remained open as a private toll route, until the current state highway bridge opened in 1969.
The suspension bridge’s decking was removed then, but it’s remained as a landmark for commuters for more than 50 years since – albeit one that now looks different.
This week, Clive Akers, who still lives near the bridge, said he was relaxed about the cabling’s removal.
Historic Places Trust Manawatū Horowhenua chairwoman Cindy Lilburn said the trust was saddened to see the cables go from such an iconic structure.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand