West Coast's Waiho River bridge to close at night as final construction begins

Thursday, 2 May 2019

The Waiho River bridge is set to close at night for the majority of May as the final stage of construction gets under way.

The bridge at Franz Josef, which is a vital link for the tourism-dependent West Coast, washed away after hours of severe rain battered the region on March 26.

It was reopened following a frantic 18-day effort by contractors, the Defence Force and NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) staff to rebuild it.

The recently reconstructed Bailey bridge across the Waiau River will be closed overnight on Sunday continuing through most of May as final construction work gets underway.

However, it is set to close again on Sunday night and will remain closed for most nights in May as final construction takes place.

**READ MORE:

Vehicles use the newly rebuilt Waiho River bridge after it opened on April 13.

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The Waiho Bridge in Franz Josef after being taken out by flood waters on March 26.

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The closures will take place on State Highway 6 between the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers for three weeks from May 5 through to May 24, between 9pm and 6am. The bridge will remain open on Friday and Saturday nights.

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

NZTA maintenance contract manager Moira Whinham said timber running planks will be laid over the bridge deck to provide a smoother journey and it will also have a sealing layer applied to it during the three-week closure.

She said electronic message boards will be put in place along SH6 at Hawea, Makarora and Hokitika to advertise the night closure hours.

Once on SH6 there is no road detour around the Waiho/Waiau River, between the two glacier villages, she said.

The bridge is a vital link for the tourism-dependant West Coast.

Work was delayed until after the school holidays to minimise inconvenience, she said.

Westland Mayor Bruce Smith earlier said having the bridge down 'stopped us in our tracks', but its repair means the region will be 'back in business'.

Hospitality and accommodation businesses from Hokitika to Haast lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in cancelled bookings while the bridge was down, Smith said.

Some estimates suggest the fall in visitor numbers could have cost the West Coast economy up to $3 million a day while the bridge was out of action.

Whinham said the estimated cost to repair the bridge, which includes reinstating the abutment, rock work and demolition of the remaining bridge was about $6.6m.

She said the estimated total cost for the March 26 storm, which includes repairing damages at sites on the Fox River and in South Westland was about $9.5m.

The funding for this work comes from the national emergency fund used by NZTA.