University of Canterbury (UC) civil and natural resources engineering senior lecturer Dr Alessandro Palermo has been working with industry on new bridge designs following the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes. "We have an opportunity in Christchurch not just to fix bridges but to have many pedestrians walking over our rivers throughout the city which will have benefits in the long run with tourists,” he said. "The future of Christchurch could be the city of iconic bridges instead of the garden city.’’
Palermo is giving a public talk this week about the history of Christchurch bridges, how they performed in the earthquakes and how bridges could be seismically improved. Although no bridge collapsed in the earthquakes, the city has been disrupted by the loss of functionality of many bridges. More than 50% bridges need repair work or to be replaced.
"In the next five years Christchurch has the opportunity for a change. How can we turn Christchurch into the city of bridges?” he said. "Should we invest resources and funds for more iconic bridges? Can we improve the post-earthquake functionality of our bridges or are we prepared to accept the same traffic disruption we had in 2011? At UC we are working with the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team as we plan for the future. Although, there are not many bridge engineers in New Zealand, the hope is to stimulate the creativity and will for innovation for the next generation of bridge engineers."
He added that UC has produced some prominent bridge designers who are in the front line of the Christchurch rebuild including Mike Cowan of Opus and Nik Stewart of Beca.
