Mena Creek suspension footbridge set to re-open
The Cassowary Coast Regional Council announced today that repairs to the Mena Creek Environmental Park suspension footbridge linking to Paronella Park are complete and the bridge is set to re-open for public use.
Director of Civil Works, Mr David Trotter, said today that an inspection of the bridge following Cyclone Larry revealed that one of the main cables was severely damaged and the bridge was subsequently closed to the public.
“An application for funds was made through Natural Disaster Relief Arrangements (NDRA) to repair the damage done by the cyclone and a sum of $61,497 was approved by the Department of Local Government and Planning to repair the bridge,” he said.
Divisional Councillor for the area, Cr Carmel Silvestro, said it was excellent to see work finalised and the bridge now safe again for public use.
“I’d also like to thank council staff who worked so diligently on the project to ensure the bridge was re-opened in good working order and within budget,” she said.
Mr Mark Evans, owner of Paronella Park commented that he was pleased to see the bridge re-open as locals thought the bridge was owned by us (not Council).
“We fielded a lot of queries as to why it was closed. It’s a great asset though, and the viewing platform was severely missed during it’s closure,” he said.
The bridge was constructed in 1988 as a Bicentennial Project by the Australian Army Engineers based at Laverick Barracks at Townsville and was officially opened on 17th September 1988. The pedestrian bridge is currently heritage listed along with Paronella Park.