Ashburton Railway Footbridge
| Ashburton Railway Footbridge | |
|---|---|
| Type | Footbridge |
| Location | Ashburton, Canterbury |
| Coordinates | 43°54′07″S 171°45′04″E / 43.902°S 171.751°ECoordinates: 43°54′07″S 171°45′04″E / 43.902°S 171.751°E Fatal error: The format of the coordinate could not be determined. Parsing failed. |
| Built | 1917[1] |
| Built for | NZR |
| Architect | George Alexander Troup |
| Owner | Ashburton District Council[1] KiwiRail[2] |
| Official name | Ashburton Railway Footbridge |
| Designated | 1st January 2017 |
| Reference no. | 7665 |
The Ashburton Railway Footbridge, constructed in 1917[3] has continuously served the Ashburton community as an active rail crossing for more than a century.
The construction is of cast and rail iron, and Jarrah timber. The main span is a large bowstring truss to allow it to cross over the Main South Line, which passes through the center of Ashburton. Now one of the few remaining structures of the Ashburton Railway Station left.
The Ashburton footbridge is one of only seven remaining string truss bridges left in the country[4]. With an impressive for the time, span of 84 feet (26 m) it is only beat in length by Dunedin's railway footbridge by 13 feet (4.0 m).
In the mid 2000s, ONTRACK, then owner of the railway, had gifted the Railway Footbridge to the Ashburton District Council.
Original Footbridge
The original footbridge was a wooden structure constructed in 1911, providing a crossing at Cameron Street[5]. As part of the construction of the current footbridge in 1917, the wooden structure was relocated to provide a rail crossing at the end of Atkin street[6]
Condition
The Foot bridge remains open to the public for its intended use of crossing the rail corridor from East to West, but being constructed in 1917 and with the decline of rail service throughout the late 20th century and cessation of passenger services in 2002 at Ashburton.
2018 Inspection
In August 2018[3] a detailed inspection took place, and found significant conservation work needed.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "HNZ Listing". Retrieved 22 January 2025.
- ↑ "ADC Historical Listing" (PDF). Retrieved 22 January 2025.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Leask, Jonathan (July 2022). "Finding funds for historic rail footbridge fix up". Stuff. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
- ↑ Stringer, Kathleen (December 16, 2018). "Our Overbridge". Ashburton Museum Blog. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
- ↑ "Rail footbridge restoration". ADC. 16 December 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
- ↑ "Ashburton News" (16118). Press. 24 January 1918. p. 3. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
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