Wick riverside footbridges to receive long overdue facelift
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Essential work on well-used footbridges at Wick riverside has been welcomed by members of the town's community council.
Volunteers from the Wick Paths Group are set to begin repairs at the Coghill bridges in August, which will mean closure of the popular river crossings for a couple of weekends.
The two bridges will be closed on the first and third weekends of the month – August 1-2 and 15-16 – from 8am to 7pm.
Highland Council funding of £5000 for materials was received by the Wick Paths Group before lockdown. However, everything had to be put on hold until now.
Community council chairperson Joanna Coghill, who is among those that have campaigned for years to get the footbridges upgraded, said: "The community council is so grateful that a small group of volunteers have managed to do for the town what Highland Council cannot.
"This seems to be a recurring theme – volunteers doing so much for our town."
She pointed out that after an initial survey on the state of the bridges the council felt £100,000 would be necessary for urgent repair work, which quickly increased to around £170,000.
"However, another structural survey came back with a report of how bad the state of the bridge was in and we were now looking at well over £400k," she said.
"Then, lo and behold, the monies that we had been reassured was there for the Coghill bridges was poured back into the Highland Council 'pot' without warning or consulting us.
"This really did feel like, once again, Inverness was pulling the strings – our bridge wasn't important enough."
After a continued fight to get the funding back, the community council is thankful the volunteers have decided to take on the challenge.
Paths group secretary John Bogle said: "This is a major project for a voluntary group and the biggest one that the paths group has undertaken. However, we have managed to assemble a small group of skilled individuals prepared to give up their spare time to make this well-used Wick icon much safer."
He added: "I am always wary someone is going to injure themselves."
Mr Bogle explained that Highland Council had replaced some decking in the main bridge after a five-year-old boy was injured in June 2014 when he fell through a gap in the wooden walkway.
Project leader Willie Watt pointed out that they would be seeking to minimise the disruption to the public as much as possible.
He said: "The overall aim is to make it safer to use."
A new non-slip walkway will make the bridge better underfoot as well as more robust and will require less maintenance. Rotten timbers will be replaced before the decking is covered with non-slip fibreglass panels similar to those used on the pontoons at Wick harbour.
All the bolts in the handrails will also be replaced and new plates will be secured to the underside of the beam where they are attached. A final coat of paint will also be given to the handrails.
Commenting on the condition of the main bridge at the moment, Mr Watt said: "It is very slippy – the wood gets very green. It really does get treacherous in the winter.
"It is an important thoroughfare – a lot of people cross it every day, particularly in these times of Covid. The whole riverside area is a wee gem for us in the town, it is a vital part of wellbeing for people taking exercise."
Ruth Falconer, of the Wick Riverside Volunteers, said: "The bridges are used by a lot of people in the town – I think it will be a real boost for the riverside."
A joint litter-pick is also being organised between the paths group and the riverside volunteers on August 15, starting at 10am, with everyone welcome to join in.
The first weekend will involve work on the small bridge, which will help them iron out any problems before moving on to the main bridge on August 15-16.
The main Coghill Bridge, built in 1893, was gifted to the people of Wick by Harry Coghill who donated the crossing as a tribute to the place of his birth.
