Ongoing repairs to the Red Bridge over the Clutha River near Luggate have extended the period the bridge will be closed, and work in the roundabout and underpass providing access to Three Parks will resume this week.

The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) confirmed that the essential safety repair work being carried out means the Red Bridge, which has been closed to SH8A traffic since April 14, will remain closed between Monday and Friday until Friday May 22.

“As this repair work is focused on the bridge deck, we need to close the bridge to all traffic between 8:00am and 5:00pm on weekdays,” NZTA maintenance contract manager Mark Stewart said.

This sort of work is usually done in the evenings to minimise the impact on road users, Mark said, but the additional health and safety measures adopted under the COVID-19 restrictions meant crews had to work during the day.

“With the significant drop in traffic right now, daytime repairs are the safest option,” he said.

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The repairs to the 105-year-old bridge were expected to finish sooner than late May but in the course of the initial work on the deck it was discovered that repairs to the bridge abutments, where the highway approaches the bridge, were also required, adding at least two more weeks to the project, the NZTA said.

NZTA media manager Frances Adank said the work on the bridge’s deck can only be undertaken at this time of the year when the weather is still warm and relatively dry, and traffic congestion is reduced compared with the summer season. 

Construction of the Three Parks roundabout and adjacent new BP service station will resume under alert level three.

“So it [repairs] had to continue through the lockdown or risk not getting it done at all,” she said.

Anyone planning to use SH8A between Wanaka Airport and Tarras will have to take the alternative route via Camp Hill Road and Kane Road while the bridge remains closed. The detour would take an additional 15 minutes.

Another major NZTA Wanaka project has been given the green light to resume under alert level three. 

The long-awaited roundabout and underpass on the Wanaka-Luggate highway (SH84) providing access to Three Parks will resume this week.

Unlike the Red Bridge, work on the Three Parks roundabout was not considered to be essential in the circumstances for COVID-19 health and safety level four resilience projects, the NZTA said, and the project was temporarily put on hold while only half completed.

Work on the construction of the new BP service station adjacent to the Three Parks roundabout will also resume in alert level three restrictions.

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