THE SHANNON BRIDGE.

Shannon News, 9 January 1925, Page 3

THE SHANNON BRIDGE.

SJiTllUate FAVOUR OLD BRI.DGk Wl'jjti NlfciW SPAN.

Tne punt to terry conveyances, over the Manawatu river at Moujoa is anout completed and the roadway to the shannon side of the river giving access to it is "completed, but no appioach has. yet been maue 011 the mou10a side, wnicii is under the jurisdiction 01 tne Manawatu comity uounciij. Tiie cost- of the punt will run into about. £500; then mere is the expense of some one tq take charge. So iar no one seems to Know whether a ; charge will be made for using the 1 ferry. I The settlers in the locality are op-

posed to the punt as a means <of ferryjng except as a temporary means of crossing. They are Qf the opinion that when once the punt is put in commission, thy authorities will, hang up tlie ; bridge question indefinitely. They ex- '. press indignation at what the.y consider the indifference qf those, in authority in dealing with this question, ii the money expended on the punt htd been used to re-construct the span washed away by the flood and the present piles strengthened and protected, the bridge would have now been open again for traffic. They also argue that the present bridge s.ite can be made secure for all time by the construction'of groynes to divert the current to the centre channel, and pievent erosion; further, that a new site as suggested by a conference oi engineers does not guarantee any more degree of safety than the present site. One settlers puts it "that too many fingers have been in the pie and between the lot of tihem they have bungled the whole business and caused unnecessary delay, inconvenience and needless expense to the settlers. What i we want is a new span, on the old bridge and protective groynes ereetI ed."

Messrs Andrew and Hunter, c-i Shannon, visited Foxton on Wednesday, says the Herald, in connection with the bridge and suggested tlie holding of an indignation meeting. The Mayor of Foxton (Mr John Chrystalij was interviewed qn the subject and he stated that he. concurred with the views of the. settlers and endorsed the statements of the deputation, who interviewed Mr Furkert, Public Works Engineer. Mr Furkert had stated that the question qf re-erecting the span on the present bridge would be looked.into but he had not. heard anything further in the matter except that the Foxton Borough Council had been assessed for its proportion of the cost of tlie punt. He had not received any further official information as to what was being done in the matter. • He fully realised lihe, inconvenience tlie settlers were up against, He promised to get into touch with the representative of the Manawatu County Council 011 the subject. In conversation with Mr W. E. Barber, member for the Awahou Biding of the Manawatu County, the Heralu was informed that he had communicated with Mr J. Linklater, M.P., who had promised to immediately interview Mr F.urkert. .qn the subject and stress, the importance of having the bridge "span re-erected. Mr Bartber stated that there was evidence of laxity on the part of the Horowheuua County Council in connection with tne control of the bridge, in his opinion had proper care been exercised tlie span would not have been washed a\\;ay. If tlie span was. re-erected and other protective steps taken the present bridge would serve for at least another ten years. Provided the "cuts" were put in to relieve the Manawatu oi it's flood waters, this would further safeguard the structure from future severe erosions. The present bridge was 400 feet in length and the. proposed new bridge would be 900 feet. The expense of the new structm-e wouild be avoided if proper steps were taken to safeguard the present bridge. If tliose responsible would concentrate on the present structure communication with Shannon would be resumed m a few weeks. He understood that the Foxton Borough, Council and other local authorities intended ( to deal with the matter immediately.