Contractors, councillors and others at the opening on Monday. Photo: LDR / MAIA HART
A temporary bridge that was "rattling" more by the day has been retired, after a new $4m bridge was opened in the Waihopai Valley in Marlborough on Monday.
The single lane bridge over the Waihopai River is 100m upstream from the former bridge site which was swept away following flooding in July 2021.
Members of the local community celebrated its opening with Marlborough mayor Nadine Taylor, councillors, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi representatives, Marlborough Roads staff and contractors on Monday afternoon.
The new bridge over the Waihopai River officially opened on Monday. Photo: Marlborough District Council
The completion of the project had future-proofed road access to and from the Waihopai Valley, Taylor said.
"This new structure is impressive and a vast improvement on the one we lost. It will be of benefit to all users and its completion marks a final return to normality for the community.
"The new road downstream of the bridge is also more resilient with it now higher up on the terrace to protect it from future flooding," she said.
It was expected to have a 100 year life, she said.
Taylor told a small number of community members that came to the celebration the bridge was built for them.
She said a "mighty storm" had washed the previous bridge away and the council had worked consistently to get the consents it needed to rebuild and reconnect a community.
"Everything should now go back to normal, if not better," she said.
Marlborough mayor Nadine Taylor gets ready to cut the ribbon of the new Waihopai Bridge. Photo: LDR / MAIA HART
Judy Hull, who lived about 3km past the bridge, said she was happy to see the bridge opened, as the temporary bailey bridge was "rattling" more by the day.
At last count, she understood more than 80 people lived past the bridge.
Alison MacKenzie, who lived 11km past the bridge, said it was great to see the bridge opened.
Both MacKenzie and Hull agreed that shingle and logs had built up on the old bridge, and hoped the new bridge would resolve this.
NZTA Waka Kotahi senior project manager Andrew Adams said options for the new bridge location were confirmed in 2022 and geotechnical investigations concluded by mid-2023.
The contract was awarded to Egypt Ltd, a Nelson-based bridge contractor with a yard in Havelock, in November 2023.
The new bridge cost $4m and came in under budget. Photo: LDR / MAIA HART
Their designer Thelins completed the detailed bridge design by early 2024 with construction starting in April last year.
"The reinforced concrete bridge beams were precast in Nelson - each weighing 24 tonnes - and were delivered on low-loader and placed by crane from the riverbed.
"Egypt Ltd's team stayed locally during the week to undertake the construction, only going home on weekends.
"It's been a fantastic effort and a great result to have the bridge finished on schedule."
Egypt Ltd project manager Mary Barnett said the project was special, as it was their biggest bridge built to date.
They were grateful for the local support, she said.
The bridge was completed in December with finishing works on the 800m of road alignment to and from the bridge completed in early February.
Taking away the temporary Bailey bridge and the remains of the old bridge had also been completed.
The bailey bridge, a portable, prefabricated truss bridge, had been in place since August 2021.
The project cost was approximately $4m and came in $1.1m under budget. This included design and construction, road realignment, surfacing and drainage, geotechnical investigations, alignment design, land and consents. It was 95 percent funded through NZTA's Financial Assistance Rate.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
