The NZ Transport Agency‘s Bailey bridge building team is onto the third span of the seven-span bridge at the Waiho River, South Westland, and teams on both sides of the river are working towards reopening the bridge in a week‘s time, on Friday 12 April.

The New Zealand Defence Force and Downer are working together to help rebuild the Bailey bridge, washed away by rock-filled floodwaters last week, says NZTA system manager, Pete Connors.

“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 from the south side to the north,” says Connors. 

“Supporting the Bailey bridge team on both sides of the river are numerous subcontractors doing sterling work, alongside our highway maintenance team on the West Coast, Fulton Hogan, and WSP-Opus designing the new pier and abutments and other aspects of this bridge construction.”

The 18 army engineers are deployed for the duration of the project.

“Collaboration is the key to getting the network reconnected for the local community,” says Downer‘s South Island general manager Scott Ford. “We are very aware this is an important bridge connecting Franz Josef and Haast Pass, but through the relationships and support of local subcontractors and the NZDF, we have the right people on the ground to get the job done as safely and as quickly as possible.”

The bridge replacement work includes 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 that were not washed away last week.

The NZTA‘s Bailey bridge installation experts, Downer, have previously worked with the NZDF on Bailey bridge constructions around New Zealand. In this instance, they will be reconstructing a seven-span Bailey bridge over the Waiho River.

Once completed, the new 170-metre Waiho Bridge is believed to be one of the longest Bailey bridges that army engineers will have been involved in constructing since World War II.

“We know how important a link this bridge is in the South Island and for the businesses in South Westland. It is heartening to see the strong cooperation at this level to restore this essential link for this community,” says Connors.

The NZTA will be updating the timeframe at the end of this weekend, when it has a clearer idea of any delays and the old bridge spans have been fully removed.

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