By Sue Newman

he preferred site for Ashburton's second traffic bridge is public information, let the battle begin.

The Ashburton District Council has done its homework, spent the money and covered all bases, but its choice of location for the second bridge across the Ashburton River is still likely to see it buying itself a fight.

It's like any new structure, any improvement, any facility. We all want it, it's just that we don't want it in our own back yard. For those who draw the short straw there's a battle to be fought to either have plans changed or modified. And so it will be with the second bridge.

There's been debate for years over the need for this bridge and there's been debate for years over where it should go and the form it should take. At the extreme ends are the supporters of a bypass. This would take through traffic and heavy traffic out and around the periphery of town. It would mean that only those who wanted to stop and shop would, the rest would simply zip by, blissfully unaware of what we had to offer.

Bypasses kill towns, there's plenty of evidence around New Zealand.

And then there were the multiple options for moving traffic through town to a variety of river crossing points. Some had merit, others were simply too difficult to implement. One of the common themes, however, was the need for the second bridge to be in a location that did the most possible to improve the traffic snarl-ups that occurred regularly, and that meant the east side of the river.

Here, again, there were options and the council says its preference is for a location that will have minimum impact on homes and farms. But it won't be impact-free. Ask the people of Grove Street.

While people living at the opposite end of the bridge route, Chalmers Avenue are accustomed to high traffic volumes, those on Grove Street definitely live at the quieter end of town. Or did.

By this morning they'll all have received letters telling them they're part of the bridge network. By lunch time, no doubt the Grove Street network will be running hot.

They have fears that the bridge will ruin their property values and the quiet enjoyment of their homes. Whether those fears are grounded or groundless remains to be seen.

The bridge and its location will be a hot topic over the next few weeks, replacing the uproar created by the choice of the Ashburton Domain as a site for the district's stadium and aquatic centre.

If you have concerns over the proposed second bridge route, let us know.

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; write: Box 77, Ashburton; phone: 307-7958.