Heavy vehicle limits on Hawke's Bay bridges

Heavy vehicle speed and weight limit in place while Red Bridge is assessed for bigger vehicle use. Photo / Doug Laing

Heavy vehicle use of the seasonally busy Red Bridge over the Tukituki River between Havelock North and the Waimarama beach has been limited to 10km/h as part of a seven-year programme upgrading Hastings District bridges to meet new load-level rules.

The council confirmed yesterday the speed the limit and weight restriction on the 329m long reinforced concrete bridge built almost 80 years ago, is part of the assessment process as it looks to upgrade 30 bridges to meet new load-bearing requirements set by Government last year.

Red Bridge is considered a priority, with limits put in place as "safety, precautionary and regulatory measures" on bridges that don't meet the new criteria in rules set by Government in line with decisions to increase height, width and weight maximums for trucks.

It required councils to report initially by December 1 which routes are unsuitable for larger vehicles and to put signs on bridges which could not be used by them.

The council yesterday emphasised the Red Bridge restriction applies only to heavy vehicles, and different bridges are receiving different treatment depending on their construction and expected load levels.

More detailed planning including consulting with industry and rural communities and working through the Long Term Plan process to programme work into annual budgets, with 18 of the bridges needing to be brought up to a level to allow larger loads and investigation needed for strengthening of bridges on other routes.

Current estimated cost for the project is about $10.3 million over the next seven years, subsidised at about 54 per cent through the New Zealand Transport Agency.

The Hastings project began in November with work on the 66-year-old 45m long Kawera Bridge on Taihape Rd, including laying carbon fire ropes to strengthen its wooden deck so the bridge could be upgraded to a level to take trucks of up to 62 tonnes.

The New Zealand Transport Agency says the small increases in allowable vehicle size will not mean noticeably bigger trucks on the roads but will reduce the numbers of trips and contribute to road safety.