Embankment risk seen

Press, 27 February 1981, Page 4

Embankment risk seen

j Part of the Lancaster Pari embankment is considerec structually unsound anc could collapse under g bij crowd. The small portion ol ; the bank is at the north end of the ground above public toilets and next to what remains of the old No. I stand. - The Christchurch City Council’s buildings engineer, Mr B. Bluck, said the ares “could possibly” collapse and patrons fall 12m to I4m if the area was fully loaded. The concrete and remaining reinforcing “would be working damned hard is there was any bouncing about up there. Engineering is a reasonably exact science but we can only guess at exactly how much strength is still in there,” Mr Bluck said. The defects in the pre-cas: concrete terraces were the subject of a report bv council engineers after their public buildings licence inspection last August; The

t Victory Park Board was advised at the time, and the council’s health departmem was told that a conditional ! licence should include a re quirement to barricade the offending area. That area, though little used in the cricket season has not been roped oi fenced off during the Shell series this season. Mr Bluck said the advice to the owner and the inserting of a condition intc the licence “throws the onus on the owner to make sun he does something about it. "After all,” he said, “it would be too draconian to stop them using Lancaster Park because of a bit of ruson the ’bank.” However, the secretary manager of the Victory Park Board. Mr C. H. J. Rhodes said yesterday that although the area was in need of attention there would be no risk to the public. “There will not be time to do anything before the Indian cricket test next week

but it will be done before the first big rugby match against Scotland on June 6,’ said Mr Rhodes. He said the board would meet next week and if its engineers confirmed other professional opinion on the condition of the small section of the embankment — above “Bookies Corner,” — the board would ensure that the area was cordoned from the public. In the affected area concrete has broken away from the steps, and reinforcing steel, which Mr Rhodes said was set too close to the l edge of the concrete is prot-j ruding. Attempts to repair some of the damage with gunite concrete, a spray-on plaster mix, have apparently not been successful because corrosion, is too far advanced.

Metal bracing of the supports under that area of the embankment is also slack and warped, indicating that “something has moved,” according to one engineer

shown photographs. But Mr Bluck said that that was “not necessarily a major problem.” Mr Rhodes, a recent appointment to the neW. post of secretary-manager at the park, said the work had been overlooked in the change of staff. But he also said that 18 months ago the board had completely repaired the south end of the embankment.

Mr Bluck said that “at times, there has been a bit of rusting there,” and said that this was “fairly normal in that corrosive atmosphere, next to the gas works.” However, it needed constant maintenance or it would get out of control, he said.

The. only occasion on which there was likely to be a demand for all corners of the park was the proposed test against the Springboks on August 15, and that worried Mr Bluck,