Medway Footbridge Removal Provides Afternoon Spectacle For Locals

The Medway twisty bridge, as it became known after the 4 September 2010 earthquake, was safely removed from the river this afternoon by a 300-tonne capacity crane. SCIRT's Fulton Hogan delivery team carefully placed the bridge on the riverbank for segmenting into three pieces to be taken to Ferrymead Historic Park for storage.

About 40 local people and a small media contingent watched the operation with a nearby pre-school taking their lunch on the river bank. One Keller St former resident commented that the noise of the bridge as it twisted with the river banks moving in the early morning hours of 4 September was unforgettable.

Work by the SCIRT Fulton Hogan crew started around 6 am securing the crane on site so the bridge could be safely lifted in one piece. Around 2.00 pm, with the men in the dinghy with the cutting equipment safely out of the way, the bridge was lifted and guided over the top of the trees to the River Road side of the Avon at Medway Street.

“The operation went very smoothly, as expected,” said SCIRT’s Fulton Hogan Rebuild Team structures manager Bryan Hickling. “Although the actual lift and removal to the riverbank takes just a few minutes, setting up the site safely is essential.”

The future of the bridge and a possible replacement is still to be decided.

To watch the video, see the Press web. Or read the background to the bridge removal on the SCIRT work notice.

ENDS

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