Urgent repair work on the Hikuai River bridge on State Highway 25 south of Tairua will take place on Wednesday 10 November, with a week of night closures to follow later in the month to ensure the bridge remains safe for all traffic to use.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency advises that on Wednesday work to repair damage to the surface of the single lane bridge will see traffic stopped in both directions for up to half an hour at a time between 9.30am and 4pm. Contractors will ensure the bridge is open for traffic leaving Tairua after school finishes around 3pm.
Then from Sunday 28 November to Thursday 2 December the bridge will be closed between 8pm and 5am to allow steel plates to be bolted to the deck.
“We apologise for the inconvenience to motorists, however both these pieces of work are necessary to keep the bridge open,” says Waikato System Manager Cara Lauder.
“Like all bridges on the state highway network, the Hikuai River Bridge is regularly inspected to ensure it remains safe to use,” Ms Lauder says.
When the night works are taking place later in November the bridge will reopen during the day under a temporary speed limit.
There is no local detour around the Hikuai River Bridge, with the only available alternative route using State Highway 25 and State Highway 25A around the Coromandel Peninsula and motorists are advised to plan ahead and delay their travel for outside the closures, where possible.
The Hikuai River bridge requires a full deck replacement and this is expected to be done in 2022.
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