From Monday, 29 May, for the next three months, trucks will begin moving 45 metre loads (bumper to bumper) from Hornby, Christchurch, via State Highway 73 (Porter’s/ Arthur’s Passes) to the new Taramakau Bridge project, between Greymouth and Kumara Junction. The load is carrying concrete bridge beams which measure up to 34 metres.
All up, there are 44 bridge beams to get to the Taramakau River site.
Up to three times a week, one truck load is scheduled to leave Christchurch at 4:30am to arrive at Taramakau around 6pm.
Some minor delays can be expected due to the length of the load and the slow and winding nature of parts of State Highway 73. More significant delays (10-20 minutes) can be expected going up Porter’s Pass and going down the Otira Viaduct. It's expected that the load will be between Springfield and Arthur’s Pass 7.30am - 12.30pm and between Arthur’s Pass and Otira around 2.30pm daily.
The Taramakau Bridge is located on State Highway 6 between Greymouth and Kumara Junction. More information on the project can be found here.
Before travelling this route you may wish to check http://www.nzta.govt.nz/traffic(external link) on the day to see if a truck is scheduled.
The Transport Agency thanks all drivers heading to the West Coast on a day the long load is scheduled for being patient if they are slightly delayed.
Photo taken on the State Highway 73 earlier this week, a test run for the lengthy load.
For real time information on highway conditions and incidents or to report issues:
