NEW COLOMBO STREET BRIDGE TO BE CONSTRUCTED.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18830, 6 August 1929, Page 16

NEW COLOMBO STREET BRIDGE TO BE CONSTRUCTED.

SCHEME APPROVED BY CITY COUNCIL. Although the City Council referred back to the Works Committee for further consideration a proposal to erect the new Colombo Street bridge on the spandrel arch design at a cost of £2300, the committee again recommended this course to the council at its meeting last night. The recom mendation was approved. The Works Committee stated in its report, that it would be remembered that three proposals were submitted for the council’s consideration, viz., £ (1) Girder type with elevation as at present 110 b (II.) Braced arch with amended wing walls, but showing girder 1900 (III) Spandrel arch 23C0 When the proposal was previously submitted the committee recommend ed the adoption of the third proposal After giving the matter further con sideration the committee wished to adhere to its previous recommendation it being of an opinion that a bridge with an understructure of this type

would be more in keeping with other bridges in the locality, which are of somewhat similar construction. Fur thermore, the erection of the Edmonds band rotunda, the Bowker fountain and other improvements in the locality enhanced the importance of this bridge from an aesthetic point of view, and the committee was of opinion that the additional expenditure referred to was warranted Councillor F. R Cooke, chairman of the Works Committee, said that the committee had decided against altering its original recommendation. The engineer had gone to considerable trouble in preparing the plans, and the committee was of opinion that the expenditure of ad extra few hundred pounds was quite warranted Councillor A. W. Beaven said he in tended to vote against the committee’s recommendation. He also wished to protect against a suggestion made that tenders should not be called for the work. Councillor J. A. Flesher asked where the money was coming from for the work. Councillor Cooke said the monev was coming from contingencies from the oan. lie was glad the question had been asked because at the previous . Councillor Flesher had suggested- that the contingency fund of * ad exhausted on account of the cost of the work on Lin-

coln Road being above the estimate The actual position was that in no case had the estimate been exceeded The estimate for the work in Mowbray Street was £3878, and the actual cost was £3lOl. Lincoln Road had cost £5770, and the estimate was £5973 and Colombo Street cost £7245. and the estimate was £7335. The Mayor (the Rev J. K. Archer) said that the figures given by Councillor Cooke showed that by these saving? the contingency fund had not been touched at all. Councillor E. H Andrews said that the sum of £IOOO was provided for on the loan schedule and only the balance would have to be found from the ron tingency fund. At last meeting, he had favoured the No. 2 scheme, and since then he had been studying the plans and he felt that the No. 3 scheme was worth the extra £4OO in cost. He thought that it would be policy and economy to spend the extra money. The clause was adopted.