Manawatu Evening Standard. SATURDAY, JULY 20, 1935. THE NEW BRIDGE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LV, Issue 198, 20 July 1935, Page 6

Manawatu Evening Standard. SATURDAY, JULY 20, 1935. THE NEW BRIDGE.

Structurally designed io combine economy in construction with strength and durability, the new bridge across the Manawatu River at the foot of Eitzherbert Avenue Avas formally opened today by His Excellency the Gov-ernor-General, Lord Galway. It Avas an event of considerable interest to the citizens of Palmerston North and to the country community who use this gateAvay to the city, for since the beginning of the Avork they haA'e seen the ucav bridge slowly take shape until to-day it is a structure pleasing to the eye and of great quality. The designers Avho ably planned haA’e seen workmen fashion the finished object, giving to posterity a bridge of Avhich it may A'ery avcll be proud. It is a matter for congratulation that the undertaking, Avhich, apart from ordinary hazards, Avas fraught Avith danger when the river became flooded, has been completed Avitkout any very serious accident to the workmen. The neAv bridge emphasises how the old order changes. Eor nearly sixty years the wooden bridge has faithfully served . the communities on each side of the river, and proA'ided for traA'ellers in both directions a never failing means of crossing in comfort. That it has lasted for so lengthy a period is at once a tribute to the contractors avlio built it and to the durable timber that was grown at Aokautere, so close to the site. The bridge, of course, lias passed through its vicissitudes. Built when Palmerston North Avas emerging into the status of a borough, when dense native forest clothed the river's edge aud extended to the infant settlement, it has suffered in floods and been strengthened in its foundations in the course of years; but always the main structure itself has resisted the onslaught of rushing waters from swirling floods, and faithfully since the construction of the Tiritea ,Avatenvorks has borne into the city the supply of Avater so essential to its needs. So it passes and a modern bridge takes its place. It is but another illustration of Avhat has happened about the city in the many years since men first spanned the river that is part of its boundaries. This is certainly the age of the bridge builder, and though as length • goes the Eitzherbert bridge is not by any means long, even for New Zealand, being but 838 feet in length, the grace of design appeals to the imagination, and directs attention to the giant structures Avhicli span great rivenvays and even the sea itself. In the Southern Hemisphere there is the world famous Sydney Harbour bridge, opened in 1932, Avith its great span of 3T7U feet, and 1675 feet over the water, of Avhich it Avas said, when completed, that the Union Jack and the Australian flag had been placed at the apex of bridge building in the Avorld. But even the Sydney structure has been eclipsed by another —the Little Belt bridge—which has been built by the Danes and was opened by King Christian in May last/One of the longest in the Avorld, it spans the sea betAveen Jutland and the Island of Eunen and carries the main trans-Den-mark railway, while also, providing* a liigliAvay for motorists and a footway for pedestrians. This engineering triumph measures 3916 feet, of which 2750 span the sea. It oA'ershadoAA’s, the Rhine bridge at Coblenz, (1545 feet long), the George Washington bridge across the Hudson River at NeAv York (3500 feet), the United States-Canada bridge at Detroit (1850 feet) and the Quebec bridge across the St. Lawrence River (1800 feet). The Golden Gate bridge at San Francisco is, however, 4200 feet in length, so that the Danish bridge is at present second only to it. The Avorld’s greatest structure of this kind will, however, be the tremendous but magnificent suspension bridge that within a few years is to cross the harbour of San Francisco. These . engineering triumphs are a Avitness to the genius of man, his answer to the challenge of Future to span great distances.