Whangarei bridge to close for night while hooks are painted

A contractor touches up a spot of paint on Te Matau a Pohe. Photo/John Stone

Whangarei's iconic bascule bridge will be closed tonight while its hooks get a new coat of paint.

Contractors have been painting on Te Matau a Pohe all week, and the bridge will close tonight to vehicle and pedestrian traffic, and marine traffic higher than 6.5m.

The nose of each of the two main white hooks of the lifting bridge, known as the J beams, are being repainted. The beams are 2.5m high tapering down to 75cm high and are 4.2m long.

The road will be closed from 7pm tonight to 6am tomorrow to allow the bridge to be lifted so the underside of the beams can be painted.

Whangarei District Council project engineer Mark Seakins said the painting is the last part of the maintenance carried towards the end of last year.

"These last works were not done last year, because it would have impacted on boats during December which is a busy month for international yachts arriving at the Town Basin. We have timed these works in April to avoid impacting on summer boating and other events on or around the bridge."

In November last year, the bridge had it's first "spring clean" where contractors were able to get into all the nooks and crannies. That included getting into the bascule arms to carry out inspections and minor work.

Up until 7pm tonight boats are still able to travel through the bridge as normal but there could be a delay of up to 15 minutes while the workmen clear the bridge.

Skippers planning on going through the bridge during this period should book in with bridge control via VHF Channel 18, mobile +64 (0)21 401 752 or landline +64 (0)9 438 7261.