Extreme weather, unruly visitors put NZ’s longest swing bridge slightly behind schedule

Tuesday, 16 December 2025

Contractors working on a new swing bridge across a river in the Aoraki Mount Cook National Park have battled heavy snow, destructive winds and unruly visitors, but hope to have it open in late autumn.

Once completed, the new swing bridge will span 189 metres across the upper section of the Hooker Valley Track, and would be the longest of its kind in New Zealand.

The Department of Conservation released images of what the bridge could look like on Tuesday, as it gave an update on the project and the challenges contractors had faced.

“Contractors refer to it as ‘the beast’ for its sheer size, but also because of the unseasonal bad weather they have had to battle over the past few months,” a DOC spokesperson said.

Construction supervisor Ash Rogers, of Abseil Access, said while he had worked on many challenging bridge builds, including on the Milford Track, the Hooker River swing bridge had caused the most stress.

“Spring really threw absolutely everything at us” Rogers said.

“We had heavy snow and ridiculously strong winds that blew sheds and equipment down steep banks.

“Mentally, it was tough for the staff working in such extreme conditions.”

Rogers said the weather could change many times a day in the park.

“We have our own weather station, and an average day has winds of between 80 and 150 kilometres per hour blowing.

“It’s a very special place to work in, and sometimes you want to pinch yourself with the view, but there are many times when the wind gets up and you just pray for calm, fine days in a row where we can get the work done without worrying about the elements.”

Weather conditions had not been the only disruption, with DOC installing security cameras and warning people to stay away from the building site after visitors were seen climbing through barrier fences and gates to access the closed part of the track.

In one instance, contractors had to stop a helicopter concrete pour to tell walkers to leave.

The Hooker Valley Track was open to a viewing platform overlooking Mueller Lake, past the first suspension bridge, while the upper part of the track was closed due to the construction.

The new bridge would replace the existing swing bridge which had to be closed in April due to riverbank erosion near the bridge supports. Construction on the new bridge began in August.

Dan Crocker of DC Structures Studio was the engineer and architect behind the design of the bridge.

“It’s been designed with state-of-the-art pedestrian vibration and wind dynamics due to the unique location,” Crocker said.

“We wanted a design which was a ‘light touch’ in such a pristine landscape, so that visitors can revel in the experience and thrill of such a large crossing while appreciating the magnitude of the surrounding peaks.”

DOC Aoraki Mt Cook operations manager Sally Jones said it would be exciting to watch the bridge take shape over the coming months.

“The construction team are doing an awesome job, as the past few months have been really full on, weather-wise.”

Contractors had completed drilling of the main bridge support masts and were in the process of completing wind-anchor drilling and concrete foundation pours.

They hoped to start work assembling the bridge cables early next year.

“At this stage, we’re hoping to have the bridge open towards the end of autumn next year. The weather has put things a little behind schedule, but fingers crossed, it’s settled down, and we can get some calm periods for the construction team.”