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Waimakariri Gorge Bridge Re-decking to Proceed in March

February 15, 2012

HEB Construction, a Mount Maunganui based construction firm, has been selected through tender by the Waimakariri District Council to complete the replacement of the Waimakariri Gorge Bridge’s decking.

The work will involve replacement of the deteriorating deck with a combination of pre-cast concrete deck units and new timber baulk units.

Construction on the project will run from Wednesday 29 February through until Tuesday 27 March. The bridge will be closed to traffic at night during that period with a series of five minute openings scheduled at 11 pm, 12 midnight, 4 am and 5 am each night during the process. Those traffic opening times will be advertised through the media and signage at the bridge. The Waimakariri District Council will be advising bridge users of alternative options. A significant amount of the work will be carried out at night to minimise traffic disruption.

The costs of maintenance and upkeep of the Waimakariri Gorge Bridge are equally shared by the Waimakariri District Council and the Selwyn District Council and the Selwyn District Council will be contributing half of the cost of the re-decking project.

The Council’s Special Projects Manager, Dan McNally, says that the re-decking will be welcomed by the local community. “There have been some concerns expressed about the current state of the decking”, he said, “and although it looked unsightly and is due for replacement, it had been assessed as safe”.

“We’ll be ensuring that any inconvenience caused to motorists while the bridge is being re-decked is kept to an absolute minimum with work being scheduled outside peak hours and also a relatively tight schedule to ensure that the disruption period is as short as is safely feasible”.

Council’s Roading portfolio holder, Councillor John Meyer, says the project has been in the planning stage for some time and represents an important link between the Waimakariri and Selwyn Districts. “Any inconvenience caused during the re-decking will be offset by having the bridge once again fully functional and back to its full capacity.”

The work schedule on the project has been designed to carry out a significant amount of the work at night so as to minimise inconvenience to bridge users.

Please refer to our Road Closures page for the dates and times of closure.