Bridge opening on home turf

RANGITIKEI MP Ian McKelvie carried out his first official duty as a Parliamentarian in familiar territory on Saturday when opening the new Kopane Bridge over the Oroua River near his home community of Rongotea.

Mr McKelvie was the Manawatu District Mayor when the area was severely affected by flooding in February 2004, with farmers losing stock and homes to raging floodwaters that also swept through Kopane School.

The new $4 million bridge will ultimately help protect the community from a 100-year flood by alleviating pressure on the Kopane section of the river and replacing the original bridge built in 1945.

About 80 members of the Kopane community, local iwi and representatives from Horizons Regional Council and Manawatu District Council joined Mr McKelvie for a ceremony of reflection and celebration.

Prior to the plaque unveiling by Mr McKelvie, who called the structure “quite a bridge”, a bridge building competition between Kopane School students and the bridge design team was held.

Kopane School Principal Neal Duff described the opening as significant in allowing the school to move on from the flood.

“The flood had a devastating impact on the school. Water reached up to a metre high throughout classrooms and the hall was badly damaged,” he said. “At one stage there was uncertainty as to whether the school would even continue to exist, but now our roll sits at between 40 and 50 pupils and we’re looking to the future.”

Horizons Operations Manager Allan Cook said that while the bridge was primarily required for flood protection, Manawatu District Council also contributed $500,000 to the project in recognition of the additional life and safety features of the structure.

“As well as reducing the flood risk we are improving road safety for commuters who use the bridge. The new bridge is significantly wider, making it safer for motorists and cyclists alike,” he said.

Acting Manawatu District Mayor Matt Bell later said the bridge was an important infrastructural asset for the district and it was good to have “knocked this one off” as part of the Oroua River flood protection system.