TIRAUMEA BRIDGE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 29 November 1927, Page 5

TIRAUMEA BRIDGE

SETTLERS NOT SATISFIED

WITH SITE CHOSEN

The proposed Tiraumea Bridge was the- , subject of a long discussion pt last Fri-. day’s meeting of the Murchison-County,,-. Council, when a deputation consisting,,; of Messrs S. Esler and L. Dickson. ? waited on the Council to giy e,.the.sej tiers’ views on the matter. -.?.,•••• vMr Esler said that the district al- , ', ready lost two bridges; and he consider- • ed that the erection of the bridge on the,.-,; proposed site would be a waste of 1 ' money. Rather than have the bridge,.; erected on this site the settlers' would” ’ prefer to do without a bridge altogether. Mr Dickson said he was speaking .oil L , behalf of the top-end settlers who were unable to get down owing'to. a fresh in_ the river. These settlers asked that-Mr s. • Watson be asked to go over the alternative proposal and gave an estimate of .. the cost. To erect it on the proposed'- ' site would mean that the bridge would * only be used when the river was flooded. It was only through compulsion that -;' they would use it because of its-being sd out of the way.' L'' . Mr Esler said the settlers questioned";-; ilie Public Works Department’s esti- - niate that the site the settlers wanted would cost £2OOO more than the site adopted by the Department. ‘ 4;.'Uf.T Mr Dickson asked that Mr-Watson he authorised' to prepare an estimate to compare with the Department’s estimate. The request was supported by .several l’ Councillors and Councillor Monahan-; said that the possibility of the Tutaki bridge being carried away by a flood' should be taken into account when this:... question was being considered. . "W The chairman pointed: out that,,if the. .» Department erected the bridge'near; Mr Hodge’s, the road to it would stillJiavo io lie made. He also pointed out', the. danger Of delay. • • \ Councillor Lodge contested the state-: ment of the deputation that the bridge would be useless, to anyone but bimSelLi; He asserted that, the river was safer to . - bridge now than ever it was, the big; flood having made a definite river :bed, f’ Councillor Lodge moved that Mr-Wat- - ;' son prepare an estimate.of the cost'of the new road from the lower site to the main road, and that the. Public Works Department be advised of the position,. The motion was seconded by Councillor Hyde and carried. -, . - ' The chairman asked whether, in the event of the extra cost being, only £IOOO instead of £2OOO, could the settlors find that amount. .? ,

Councillor Lynch said the Council Ka'd n resolved to leave it to the Department’s engineers to choose a site because they were best qualified to judge.. Ip view. 0f..,. Mr’ Esler’s statement that the. settlers- ? would rather have no bridge than have public, money wasted by erecting it on . (he site chosen, it was necessary to the matter careful thought. He was sur- — prised that engineers would select a site (hat was as bad as the deputation suggested. ;