Ruapehu bridge upgrade opens up forestry potential

 

 

 

Ruapehu District Council road contractors have completed pouring the deck on the new Waitewhena rail over-bridge, north of Ohura and it has just reopened to traffic.

 

The new $500,000 bridge is part of council’s wider economic development programme aimed at opening up the productive potential of Ruapehu’s primary producers, forestry and tourism sectors.

 

Ruapehu Land Transport and Economic Development Manager Warren Furner says investment in land transport has long been council’s biggest expenditure item because it recognises that enabling local communities to capitalise on their potential is dependent on having access to an efficient, effective and safe road network.

 

“The new Waitewhena rail over-bridge is one four major bridge projects, along with a large culvert replacement on the Whangaehu Valley Road, that council would like to see completed by the end of this coming summer (2017-18),” he says.

 

“The other bridge projects on the drawing board are the Mangateitei Rail over-bridge near Ohakune, the Mangaparoa Rail over-bridge near Ohura and the Poro-o-Tarao bridge just past Waimiha that required repairs in February following damage from heavy vehicles.”