Security guards are stationed on Matapihi footbridge today acting as safety advisors while Tauranga City Council tries to keep the bridge open despite a report deeming it unsafe.

Earlier this week councillors voted to keep the footbridge despite a engineer report declaring the bridge unsafe.

Security guards are stationed at Matapihi railway bridge guiding pedestrians.

The decision to keep it open was made on the basis that closing it would see people taking the even more dangerous path of using the railway track.

That decision exposed the council to public liability issues.

Today ‘safety advisors' are on the bridge at both ends and every 50 metres along it directing people where to walk while work gets underway to secure the bridge.

The decision is a result of a further meeting between councillors and engineers last night to clarify safety issues.

The measure is an interim safety solution for both pedestrians and cyclists.

The information presented to council states the bridge is unsafe for cyclists due to the height of the barrier, unsafe for groups of pedestrians because of weaknesses in parts of the 50-year-old wooden structure, and some parts of the barrier may be unsafe for leaning on.

Council says plastic barriers will also be installed in the next 48 hours. The real work on the bridge repair is expected to begin in about four months.

Safety advisors on the bridge are handing pedestrians a notice stating the following:

'Some parts of the Matapihi Bridge have been declared unsafe for pedestrians and cyclists. The Council is going to erect some safety barriers in the next 48 hours and will be doing repairs on the unsafe parts as soon as practicable. This will require some closure of the bridge.

'In the meantime there will be safety advisors on-site to provide direction until work is completed to make the bridge safe.”

Closing the footbridge entirely was considered last night but was decided to be impractical as the decision was made at 4.30pm.

Safety advisors were called in to man the bridge from 5pm.

Engineers told councillors this week that the walkway is in poor condition with the main timber beams exhibiting splitting and decay.

The handrail is also in urgent need of repair. Considering the structure's overall condition it is considered highly likely that the load carrying capacity of the timber members is reduced.

The engineers report to council says the quantity of work required involving the removal of the timber beams to treat the steel support structure, means the walkway may have to be closed temporarily.

Repairs are expected to cost in the region of $770,000.