A long-debated project will become operational within days to set up railings at the Si-o-Se Pol to prevent fatal falls from the high openings of the historic bridge over Isfahan's Zayanderoud, a provincial official said.
"A fence was tentatively installed at one of the Si-o-Se Pol's openings and the remaining of the openings will go through the same process within days," head of Isfahan Province's office of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization Fereydoun Allahyari said on Monday.
It has been specially designed to ensure minimal damage to the world-renowned monumental structure and preserve its aesthetic features, he was quoted as saying by YJC.
Positive Feedback
"As it is a matter of great sensitivity, the design was first piloted at one of the openings to observe the public response before deciding whether to go ahead with its full implementation. Feedback has been positive and the project will go into operation to secure other openings as well," Allahyari said.
The new design, which experts agree would not do significant damage to the visual appeal of the bridge, involves nine rows of thick metal wires supported with two metal posts driven into the floor behind the bridge pillars, allowing them to hide from view, the official said. Safety concerns flared after the tragic deaths of a two-year-old and a 17-year-old boy who fell off the edge of the bridge overlooking the dried up bed of Zayanderoud in September and January respectively.
Reports of the first death prompted the provincial ICHHTO to take quick action, drilling holes at one of the bridge's openings to set up a fence a few days later. The move met immediate criticism from cultural heritage experts who called it a hasty appendage to the historical structure. A month later, Nasser Taheri, cultural heritage deputy at Isfahan's ICHHTO office, announced that the scheme was suspended, pending further study.
