After a small false start, a 40-year-old footbridge has been given a new lease of life in the Government Gardens.
The bridge will be part of a memorial to honour World War I soldiers, as well as part of the Rotorua District Council's planned sculpture and leisure trail. The council was to erect the 26m bridge over the lake - also known as the Casting Pool - last week. But, after the weight of the bridge was underestimated, another crane big enough to lift it into place was called in, delaying the project.
Image 1 of 3: 030614sp4 New bridge over Sulphur Lake. 03 June 2014 Daily Post photograph by Stephen Parker
The bridge will now be known as The Memorial Bridge. The $50,000 bridge has been constructed from the old pine footbridge previously on the Utuhina Stream along Lake Rd. The old footbridge was placed in storage during the Lake Rd four-laning project.
A sculpture trail is also envisaged for the memorial site where the geothermal waters of the Sulphur Lake were used as a place of convalescence for soldiers. The bridge should be open in two weeks.
