Million pound plus footbridges - good use of money?

[whole diary]

[grahame]

East Anglia Daily Times (?)

http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/poll_1_5m_monster_railway_bridge_at_thurston_is_dubbed_a_total_waste_of_money_1_3843757

A rail tack operator has been accused of wasting ^1.5million on a ^monster^ of a bridge at a west Suffolk cycle route which a sustainable transport charity felt was already safe.

Railway bridge poll
Do you feel the money for the bridge could have been better spent elsewhere?
Yes 73 %
No 23 %
Maybe 5 %
These are the score so far

Network Rail^s ramped bridleway bridge at Heath Road, just outside Thurston and near Bury St Edmunds, has been described as a ^green monster^ and ^a total waste of money^.

[Surrey 455]

Along with the majority of those asked, I cannot understand how a footbridge can cost the amount it has. I'm just going to shake my head and say I don't know what the world is coming to. Was it just a difference of opinion between two organisations as to whether the work needed doing?

[JayMac]

Can anyone tell me who or what a 'rail tack operator' is?

I note the bridge is part of a bridleway so maybe that's the answer. Either that or it's something to do with iron horses. 

[Chris from Nailsea]

The cost of building one disabled ramp up to platform 1 at my home station came in at ^1million - discussed on this forum, at http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=8366.msg103379#msg103379

There is a lane on the hill above Nailsea, which used to have a sign saying, "Private Road - no public right of way: bridal way only". 

[JayMac]

There is a lane on the hill above Nailsea, which used to have a sign saying, "Private Road - no public right of way: bridal way only". 

Well, as long as it gets her to the church on time.

[stuving]

Strange to say, according to Network Rail's "Safer Crossings" news sheet, this design of modular crossing has been adopted to save costs...