A 30km speed restriction for heavy vehicles is being put on the Elephant Hill Stream Bridge this week.
The speed restriction is simply a safety measure for the single-lane timber bridge, near Ikawai, with the opening of the route to 50-tonne High Productivity Motor Vehicles (HMPV), says the NZ Transport Agency's highway manager Colin Knaggs.
"The bridge was built in 1920 and has poor alignment. The speed restriction will help extend the life of the bridge by minimising the effects of 50-tonne loads."
Mr Knaggs says with the sharp bend at the western end of the bridge, vehicles using the bridge were already having to slow.
"The 30km speed restriction is just another safety precaution. We don't anticipate the bridge will be used that often by 50-tonne HPMVs," he says.
