Picton's steep bridge gets a grip

SCOTT HAMMOND/Marlborough Express

FIDDLY: The Coathanger Bridge in Picton is closed so a new deck can be fitted.

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Picton's Coathanger Bridge is in the midst of a $35,000 makeover.

Port Marlborough engineering and infrastructure manager Jonathan Duffy said the old deck was becoming flexible, so a new surface was being applied to the bridge, the first since 1989.

"It's a matter of making it safer and more attractive to the public," he said.

While the decking was lifted, painting of hard-to-reach areas was also under way.

"It's a very fiddly job," Mr Duffy said. The work was in its second week and the bridge would be off limits to the public for another fortnight.

The steep bridge required a special type of decking, he said. A new deck called Grip-Sert timber planks with aluminium grip tread inserts was being used.

"It will improve the skid resistance, but it will always be a bit slippery in a frost, so people need to be careful."

- The Marlborough Express