LIFESTYLER
September 18 2012
Kaipara
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Bridges pose ‘huge risk’ by Paul Campbell
New church for whole community A new Christ the King Anglican Church is being constructed in Mangawhai …
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Paparoa olive groves win gold Owners of Chapel Olive Oil, Verity and Barry Baines, won one gold and two silver awards …
P4
A family connection to maritime craftsmanship P13
The hazardous two single-lane ‘band-aid’ bridges on State Highway 12 near Matakohe that form the southern gateway into the western Kaipara are “a safety and economic risk,” says Northland MP, Mike Sabin “There are significant areas in Northland that are safety and economic risks and Matakohe bridges are on the top of my list to address,” he says. Bridge users say work carried out over the decades on the Hardies and Anderson bridges has consisted of a series of patch-ups and they continue to lobby for a more permanent solution. Another public meeting on the issue is being held on Wednesday, October 17 at the Matakohe War Memorial Hall at 7pm. Mr Sabin identifies a contributing factor to the current situation as “the local government structure in Northland and the impact this has had on roading priorities — as determined by the Northland Roading Committee.” “There is a high possibility of a change in the local government model/structure in Northland in the near future as the local government reforms roll through, a more effective platform will develop for our roading strategy locally with a more over-arching and less disjointed approach,” Mr Sabin added. Former Kaipara District Councillor, Bill Guest, says his fellow ‘Kaipara Can’ candidates in the last local body elections dubbed the crossings “the band-aid bridges”. Mr Guest is also Operations Director of Farmers of New Zealand, and says “the economic lifeblood of Kaipara is at stake here. A crash on the bridges cuts
One of the two single-lane crossings near Matakohe, dudbed ‘the band-aid’ bridges
the community in two. It’s only a matter of time before a big transporter takes a bridge right out. And it’s not rocket science or millions of dollars. Simple box culverts could carry two lanes of traffic. We are not looking at an immediate multi-million dollar bypass.” At a bridge meeting earlier this year with a representative from the New Zealand Transport Agency a number of short term remedies were discussed. “But overall it was disappointing,” said co-organiser, Dennise Brownlie. Mangrove trimming at Hardies Bridge was one of the short term measures
recently undertaken by the NZTA to improve sightlines on the approaches. This involved temporary roading for heavy machinery to operate. But bridge-users believe that the maintenance money spent over the years would be better allocated to a long-term solution. “While we’re grateful for what’s been done it doesn’t solve the problem long term — the mangroves will simply grow back again. The state of the deck of the bridge is also very bad, there are potholes and bare boards,” says Mrs Brownlie. continued on page 3 . . .