THE HUTT RIVER

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 148, 25 June 1938, Page 8

THE HUTT RIVER

STATE OF BRIDGES

REPLACEMENT NEEDED

PIPE BRIDGE AND MELLING

About the end of the year the new traffic bridge that is being built across the Hutt River at Silverstream in continuation of the Western Hutt Road will be finished, and this recalls the state of two of the other bridges that are in need of replacement—the Melling Bridge and the Hutt Pipe Bridge. A great deal has been written and said about the Melling Bridge, but the Hutt Pipe Bridge, which is one of the most important bridges in the Valley, is seldom mentioned, even though its bad condition is obvious. The present Hutt Pipe Bridge was built for the waterworks department of the Wellington City Council in 1911 to carry the lines from Wainui, and it was opened for traffic in 1912. The former pipe bridge Was a little to the south of it. Since 1912 there has been an enormous increase in the amount of traffic carried by the bridge. Apart front the usual motor traffic to the eastern harbour bays and to Hutt Park, especially when trotting meetings arq held, an increasing number of heavy vehicles go over the bridge, bound for the Gracefield industrial area. Gracefield is rapidly becoming one of the busiest industrial districts in New Zealand and this was not anticipated when the bridge was built. A good part of the traffic for Moera, where the Hutt Railway Workshops are situated, also goes over the bridge. When the erection of the bridge was being considered the Petone Borough Council was divided on the question of placing it at the end of Jackson Street or of extending the Marine Parade, so as to divert traffic from Petone's main street. The majority decision was that the traffic should not be diverted from the main street. This view would not be upheld ,today. There is sufficient traffic in the main street without the congestion caused by heavily-laden lorries. NEW SITE FOR BRIDGE? When the erection of a new bridge is being considered—and it must be considered soon—the possibility of placing the bridge at the end of the Petone Esplanade to connect with the reclaimed area will doubtless be explored. Using the Esplanade route, the lorries and buses will not need to go through the main street. Now that the roading plan of the reclamation is being made consideration should .be given to this probable development in the near future. . The local bodies affected pay to the City Council a proportion of the, cost of maintenance of the bridge. The replacing of the bridge does not come within the province of the Main Highways Board, for it joins two major boroughs, apart from the fact that it is owned by the City CounciL .>. A speed limit is placed on vehicle! using the bridge, but it is seldom observed. The reason for the restricted speed is that the vibration tends .to damage the mains. At,present-., $ne Wellington City Council is renewing the 24-inch main which has done service for many years. PLANS FOR MELLING. It is likely that something will be done soon about replacing the Melling Bridge, which has been the subjectof discussions at meetings of the HUW River Board and the Lower Hutt Borough Council for some years past. The Melling suspension bridge « about thirty years old and carries only one vehicle at a time. The the Western Hutt Road in the past hat been such that not many motorists have used it for pleasure, and consequently the Melling Bridge has not been used as much as it might bev Now, however, the road from Melling northwards has been widened to carry main traffic through to the Wairarapa, and the Melling Bridge will be much more used than formerly. ■ _ Another factor has come into- tnt Melling Bridge replacement question recently, and that is the extension of the Western Hutt Road. The engineers of the Public Works Department have surveyed the alternate widening the portion of the road that runs through the Lower Hutt borough and extending the road on the western side of the railway line to join MoKenzie Street, Petone, eliminating the Normandale and Petone level crossings, or of putting a ramp over the railway line at Melling and building a road to connect with the Lower Hutt roading system at Pharazyn Street. Although no announcement has been made about which scheme has been selected, it is thought likely that the ramp at Melling will be chosen, and this will force the issue of replacing the bridge. It has been recognised for some time that a bridge, should not be put over the river at the present spot, but that a cut should be made, straightening the river and facilitating the movement of shingle, with a bridge nearer, the Western Hutt Road and.joined to the ramp. The cost of a cut would be about £6000 and it would be the responsibility of the Hutt River Board. The Lower Hutt Borough Council would be directly concerned with the cost of the new bridge and the Public Works Department with the remainder of the work. The main objection to the present Melling Bridge is that it is obsolete for present-day traffic. Last year statements were circulating that the bridge was not in sound condition, but after a thorough examination the borough, engineer (Mr. R. F. Mainland) reported that the bridge had an ample margin, of safety, providing the loading regulations were not exceeded. The main cables gave cause for the most concern in cases of overloading. These cables, which appeared quite sound, had been in position for twenty-nine years, and it was safe to presume that they had lost some of their elastic properties, so reducing the factor of safety. NEW SILVERSTREAM BRIDGE. The new traffic bridge at Silverstream will be of reinforced concrete and will consist of eight 62-foot spans and two short approach spans each of about 10 feet, making the total length of the bridge about 516 feet. The bridge will be carried on concrete cylinders and will have a roadway 22 feet wide. On each side there will be a 4-foot footpath. The decking of the bridge will be about 24 feet above the ordinary river level.