Franz Josef truck ferry shuts down after authorities warn of safety risk

Friday, 12 April 2019

Tim Gibb is ferrying up to 30 cars and 100 people a day across the Waiho River in a dump truck after the bridge was washed away in a recent storm. (First published April 2019)

A dump truck ferry crossing the Waiho River, near Franz Josef, has shut down after the operator got a visit from the police.

Local Tim Gibb had been using a 38-tonne dump truck to ferry up to 35 cars across the river each day as a replacement for the almost 30-year-old Waiho River bridge, which was washed away by the flooded river on March 26.

The bridge is due to reopen at noon on Saturday. The NZ Defence Force, NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and other contractors are building a Bailey bridge across the river. It was originally due to reopen on Friday but was pushed back after heavy rain raised the river level earlier in this week.

Tim Gibb used a 38-tonne dumper to transport cars across the Waiho River after the State Highway 6 bridge was destroyed by flooding on March 26.

Gibb said police visited him on Wednesday afternoon, and they 'mutually agreed that we should probably cease operations'.

**READ MORE:

The truck was taking up to 35 cars a day across the river.

* Dump truck ferry carries up to 100 each day across bridge-less Waiho River

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

* Waiho River bridge repairs delayed as more rain forecast for flood-damaged West Coast**

'They said if someone got hurt it wouldn't just be a fine for me, they'd lock me up, so that was enough of an incentive to find something else to do.'

Gibb said he had been expecting the axe to fall for a while.

'It hasn't actually affected us too much because the river [has] been too high since then anyway.'

Tim Gibb has shut down his ferry service across the Waiho River after a visit from police.

The police did not fine or charge Gibb.

Gibb previously said he was trying to 'single-handedly bring the Coast economy back to life', as the small tourist town was hurting due to a lack of visitors.

The truck was loaded with about 15 tonnes of gravel to level out its slanting tray, and a flat deck with tie-down points was strapped to the back to hold the cars on securely through the crossing.

Gibb charged $100 to take a car across and $20 for each passenger, with room for up to three in the cab. Gibb said he had just covered his costs, much of which was from shipping the truck down from Tru-Line Civil in Greymouth.

A police spokeswoman said they recognised the truck was a temporary option for people wanting to get themselves and their vehicles across the river, but they considered there was a safety risk, 'particularly given the location, and changeable weather and river conditions'.

'Police have spoken to the operator to explain the concerns and recommended contact be made with NZTA for advice on ensuring compliance. Police have not forced the operator to stop the service.'

NZTA network manager Colin Hey said up to 50 people were working at the bridge site when the riverbed was dry, with many more working off-site on fabrication and design. Once the river rose, some of the work was restricted but crews were still able to work on the decking.

Hey said assembling a Bailey bridge was a specialist task and not many people able to do it were available at short notice. Adding more people than they had on the job would not have necessarily sped up the build.

He said unless an area was specially lit for a specific task, working in the dark 'massively raises the risk of injury' and was not as productive as some people thought.