The drive to gather support to save the Wakefield St overbridge stepped up a gear yesterday when motorists using the road were stopped and asked to show their support.
Wanganui council has flagged the option of closing the bridge to all motor traffic because it is old and in urgent need of replacement.
Council officers have estimated that will cost about $1.8 million, saying the alternative to keeping the bridge is to ban it to all traffic but pedestrians and cycles.
The idea has sparked a groundswell of opposition from people living in the suburb and in the nearby rural district who are demanding the bridge be retained.
Yesterday some of them were manning a roadside kiosk outside the Wanganui East Club, stopping motorists and urging them to either sign a petition or fill in a simplified submission form to present to the council.