The catastrophic destruction of the Medway St Footbridge linking Richmond and Avonside became an iconic symbol of the Christchurch earthquakes.
When the Council decided to remove the bridge in 2013, AvON in conjunction with CanCERN, undertook a survey of local residents to seek guidance on what they wanted done with the structure – almost three-quarters wanted it returned as a permanent memorial at some point in the future.
AvON undertook to bring back part of the bridge as a transitional commemorative structure alongside Te Ara Ōtākaro, the transitional Avon River trail, late in 2017. This was achieved in October 2018 in collaboration with Christchurch City Council. The structure was officially opened 28 October 2018. The main content of the signage erected on both sides of the river that tells the story of the bridge is illustrated below.
