Neil Brown: Ashburton needs a new bridge just as much as Auckland

The Ashburton District Council is facing a big repair bill to fix up gaping holes left in rutted roads and fix their bridge.
Mayor Neil Brown says if Auckland can get a new $685 million bridge, his Canterbury town should get a new bridge at a fraction of the cost.
The South Island mayor said Auckland has a need to bridge the Waitemata Harbour and "that's fine", but his town of 35,000 people has a need to bridge the Ashburton River.
Ashburton Mayor Neil Brown told Kerre McIvor it's not as simple as asking the government for money.
"We're doing a business case at the moment. Part of that business case will be the design of the bridge, once we firm up the location and there'll come a figure that it will cost to build the bridge and then we'll know how much to ask the government for."
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