Army engineers on site to help rebuild West Coast's Waiho bridge

Wednesday, 3 April 2019

Eighteen army engineers have arrived on the West Coast to help rebuild the Waiho River bridge, near Franz Josef.

The Waiho Bridge was washed away by rock-filled floodwaters in last week's extreme flood. It is being replaced with a prefabricated Bailey bridge.

The New Zealand Defence Force was helping rebuild it with Downer, NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) systems manager Pete Connors said.

New Zealand Army engineers work to rebuild the Waiho Bridge.

'Having army engineers working with the Downer team means we have highly experienced Bailey bridge construction people on this project to ensure there will be no delays when we are ready to launch the bridge,' he said.

**READ MORE:

Drone footage shows full extent of the damage to the Waiho Bridge, near Franz Josef on the West Coast, in March 2019.

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The Defence Force, the NZTA and Downer are working together to rebuild the bridge.

* Coasters on clean-up duty have till Sunday before the rain returns**

Several sub-contractors and the highway maintenance team Fulton Hogan were supporting the rebuild team and WSP-Opus were designing the new pier and abutments.

An aerial shot of contractors including NZ Army engineers, working to rebuild the Waiho bridge near Franz Josef on the West Coast.

A Bailey bridge is a type of portable, pre-fabricated truss bridge developed by the British for military use during World War II.

Materials assembled on site over the weekend, through multiple truckloads carried through the Haast Pass, including the bridge deck planks and timber supports.

Defence Force commanding officer of the second engineer regiment Lieutenant Colonel Terry McDonald said the new 170-metre bridge could be one of the longest Bailey bridges army engineers had helped build since World War II.

'It is great to contribute our professional expertise to support government agencies in responding to communities that need our assistance,' he said.

NZTA first said the bridge would be fixed in seven to 10 days, but on Saturday said it would not be fixed until April 12.

The job would include rebuilding the damaged pier on the north side, rebuilding the damaged abutments on each side of the river and safely removing the spans of the bridge not washed away last week.

NZTA said the bridge closure meant there was no direct access between the Fox Glacier and Franz Josef townships.

The road closure means the alternative route from the glaciers will take about 12.5 hours instead of about half an hour.

Both Franz Josef and Fox Glacier townships are open for business and people can still travel between glaciers via helicopter.