HUNTLY - The owners of a truck that smashed part of Tainui Bridge in Huntly will be stung with a $100,000 repair bill.
The Waikato District Council said yesterday it had received an estimate of $100,000 to repair the bridge, and the bill would go to Regal Haulage.
Huntly wascut in half on March 16 when a fault on the tip-truck caused it to raise its trailer and smash support beams on the bridge, which is the only traffic link between the town's east and west suburbs.
The bridge is still reduced to one lane.
Regal Haulage's transport supervisor, Mark Sherson, was surprised to hear of the big bill.
He said the truck had been fixed and insurance would cover the cost of repairing the bridge. "Thank God for that."
The council's chief executive, Warwick Bennett, said the bridge's second lane was likely to remain closed until late June. Repairs would start in mid-May and take up to five weeks.
Mr Bennett said traffic might be stopped for short times while the work was being done.