Exactly what form the pedestrian access will take is still unclear but councillors agreed affected residents needed immediate help.
The bridge had been closed for three weeks for urgent repairs and was due to open again late today, but earlier this week the council confirmed it would stay closed up to another 10 weeks after closer inspection revealed serious rusting of steel beams.
This posed a safety risk to bridge users.
As well as agreeing to look at urgent access solutions, the council gave chief executive Charles Hakkaart the authority to approve a variation to the existing bridge repair contract of up to an extra $180,000 for the repairs.
In a report to yesterday's extraordinary council meeting, engineering and contracts manager Christian Bopp suggested the New Zealand Transport Agency would provide its 60% share of the extra money "as they are aware of the dire situation the residents are in with the loss of use of the bridge".
Alongside making the urgent repairs, Mr Bopp said council staff had been exploring what alternative forms of passage could be offered to residents who would be without the bridge until about the end of June.
Cr Jeff Seymour said the council should be making it a priority to provide some form of access.
He hoped something could be arranged by as early as next week.
Providing pedestrian access at the very least and vehicle access at best should be the council's focus, he said.
Access options
• Pedestrian access about three times daily across the existing bridge
• Pedestrian access somewhere upstream
• Light vehicle access upstream (but has issues around resource consent and private property access)
• Awaiting word from the New Zealand Army about constructing a Bailey bridge
• Some Bailey bridges available from NZTA, costing between $70,000 and $80,000 to hire.
