Friday 14 May 2010

NZTA to fund investigation and design phase of Tawanui Bridge

Clutha District Council is pleased to advise that the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) has agreed to fund its share of the $75,000 investigation and design phase of a new Tawanui Bridge.

Manager District Assets Jules Witt said the decision was very encouraging.

The Tawanui Bridge spans the Catlins River about 12km west of Owaka. It has been closed since November when inspections revealed significant damage thought to have initially been caused by an overloaded vehicle.

Council agreed in February to replace the bridge with a single-lane concrete structure subject to an application the NZTA for a 70% funding assistance.

Mr Witt said the NZTA had asked Council for more information on the importance of retaining a bridge at Tawanui, initially indicating that replacing the bridge may be uneconomical. Council provided further information including what the effect would have been on the valuation of affected properties and on the operations of local businesses.

The project has since been separated into a $75,000 Investigation and Design Phase and a $625,000 Construction Phase in order to firstly verify that foundation conditions are good for the proposed driven piles for the new bridge.

Mr Witt said that once the investigation and design phase is complete, Council is hopeful the NZTA will then be able to also sign off on its share of the remaining $625,000 for construction of a new bridge.

Meanwhile, Council is currently in the process of getting quotes from local contractors to remove the bridge before it collapses into the waterway.

Mr Witt said the bridge had the potential to collect debris and form a dam if it collapsed into the river.

ENDS