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Top of the South teams join forces to complete bridge repair work
Collaboration was key to the success of a highly disruptive cross-boundary project in the Buller Gorge, with several teams working together to successfully plan, programme, pre-programme and communicate this significant piece of work from start to finish.
The teams involved
Teams from NZTA (Top of the South), the Wellington Transport Alliance, our Nelson/Tasman NOC – Tasman Journeys, our West Coast NOC and Egypt Civil Construction based in the Tasman District joined forces recently to complete repairs and maintenance on the Newton River Bridge on State Highway 6, deep in Buller Gorge, near the West Coast.
SH6 Newton River Bridge maintenance - May 2024
The situation
The bridge, originally constructed in 1928 and upgraded in the late 1980’s, needed some TLC and this project ensures the vital local infrastructure is protected for continued use.
The team’s main focus was to replace one bridge span that was built in 1988. To carry out this work quickly and safely, a full four-day road closure was necessary. The detour during this time added two hours to people’s travel time.
The process
Very early on the team spoke to residents, local businesses, freight industry partners and our cross-boundary West Coast partners. Communication with our key stakeholders was especially important given there was no access across the bridge while work was underway. The early engagement also ensured emergency services could plan regional responses to mitigate the risk of access across the bridge being cut off while project was underway. Working with the community meant the team gained local stakeholder support to carry out these works in the quieter times after a busy tourism season. As a result of this effort no negative responses from stakeholders, residents or road users were received.
The work was originally scheduled for late-April; however, following an initial challenge around concrete quality, the work was deferred. The team adapted and quickly pivoted to ‘Plan B’ and work got under way on 21 May 2024.
The team from Egypt removed old bridge deck sections before installing a new steel nosing at the deck joint. They improved the bearing surfaces, and then placed a new concrete deck on the one-way bridge. The bridge's guardrails and handrails were then reinstated and other minor maintenance work on the bridge was undertaken. All of this was completed under the watchful eye of our structural engineers from the Wellington Transport Alliance. Tasman Journeys played a critical part role in providing advice and temporary traffic management; they also made the most of the road closure by completing other winter maintenance on the road.
