Hikuai River Bridge decked out for summer

It’s a wrap on the Hikuai River Bridge deck replacement. Supplied

Work has wrapped on the State Highway 25 Hikuai River Bridge deck replacement just in time for the holidays.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency Waikato system manager Cara Lauder said it was great to see the project completed ahead of the busy summer season when traffic would increase significantly in the area.

“This has been a logistically challenging project and a lot of planning and collaboration went in to keeping the bridge open to traffic during the day, while we carried out this essential work.”

A new sustainably sourced and modular timber deck has been installed and sealed, along with upgraded road safety barriers, and the bridge is now open to all traffic.

Lauder said another important aspect of the project was working closely with emergency services to ensure they were across the closures and could be accommodated where possible.

“We erected a special scaffold walkway to be used by emergency services during the project and this was utilised a number of times by the St John ambulance to transfer patients.

“Despite our best efforts, we acknowledge that any road closure is disruptive, so we are thankful to the community and road users for their understanding and patience during this time.”

Lauder said the bridge plays a key part in improving the resilience of the state highway network around the Coromandel region.

The bridge still requires some edge marking so will be closed for 10 to 15 minutes, and a temporary speed restriction of 30km/h will remain in place until the scaffolding has been removed late next week.

Road users may continue to notice some minor activity around the site as truss strengthening is completed and equipment is removed, however this is expected to pose minimal disruption to traffic.