A truck driver says the drive across the bridge is “unnerving" because it creaks and groans. Video / Michaela Gower
The bridge that reconnected Wairoa with the rest of Hawke’s Bay after Cyclone Gabrielle is being replaced with one that’s wider, stronger and quieter.
Work will begin from July 28 in preparation to replace the temporary Bailey bridge on State Highway 2 at Waikare Gorge, with a wider, stronger Acrowbridge.
The new bridge will be chipsealed to reduce noise and is similar to the current Bailey bridge, but will be a metre wider to accommodate vehicles up to 4.2m wide.
It also has more capacity for HPMV and most over-dimensional vehicles.
Work will begin on July 28 to replace the Waikare Bailey bridge with an Acrow bridge, which is stronger, wider and quieter. Photo / NZTA
SH2 between Pūtōrino and the northern side of Waikare Gorge will close for a 24 hours from 10am on August 30 to 10am on August 31 while the Bailey bridge is removed and the new bridge is lifted into place.
Prior to this closure, SH2 will be reduced to one lane between the Bailey bridge and King’s Bridge, from late July, for construction work off to the side of the road.
The Acrow bridge will remain in use until the Waikare Gorge realignment, which was given a green light in February by Minister of Transport Chris Bishop, is completed.
The Bailey bridge was only a short-term solution– it has a two-year design life and only supports up to 50MAX vehicles, restricting heavy and over-dimensional traffic.
The Acrow bridge has a five-year design life, a higher load capacity and will serve as an interim upgrade to maintain access, and support the needs of project construction and general traffic until the realignment is completed.
The project will include a 160m-long arch bridge from one side of the gorge to the other and has been under consideration since at least 2004.
Senior project manager of the Waikare Gorge Realignment, Chris Mahoney, said they were working through the procurement process for the construction of the realignment project.
“Once property agreements have been finalised, we are on track to begin main on-site construction of the realignment early next year.”
The Waikare River Bailey bridge replaced the 82-year-old bridge that was destroyed in Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / NZME
The realignment will be the most expensive highway reconstruction ever in Hawke’s Bay, at a cost of up to $425 million.
Principal project manager Richard Bayley said the new temporary bridge will remain single-lane but will better support the local freight industry and improve safety for everyone.
The construction work will involve building a crane platform and putting the new steel bridge together, before it can be installed during the 24-hour road closure.
The bridge will remain single-lane, but will be stronger and quieter. Photo / Doug Laing
“During the closure, a crane will be used to swap the bridges over – taking the Bailey bridge off its piles and lowering the Acrow bridge into place."
Bayley was aware of the disruption the work could cause, so planned it for a weekend to reduce the impact on travellers.
“We’re confident this new, wider, stronger, quieter bridge will make travel through the area easier for more people.”
Wilbur Redward, a truck driver and dispatcher for Farmers Transport, said he had noted a change in the sounds when travelling across the Bailey bridge.
Wilbur Redward (left) and Ben Whaitiri alongside a Farmers Transport stock truck.
Redward said there was a “slight creak and a little bit of movement” when crossing the bridge after it was first installed in 2023 after Cyclone Gabrielle.
“You can feel the movement of the bridge when you are creeping across it.”
He described the noise in November as a “creak and a groan” and said the bridge sounded like it was “not that stoked about having that weight on it”.
