The new traffic lights at Luggate’s 109-year-old Red Bridge will be up and running from Monday (October 23).

The lights are being tested this week and regular bridge users may have noticed some activity, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) said.

The new lights will help make the historic, single-lane bridge - which has become a key link between Tarras, Cromwell, and Wānaka - better equipped for the increased amount of traffic.

It will also make the crossing safer for motorists, NZTA said.

As well as being well-used by commuters, the bridge is part of the essential freight route linking Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes Districts over the Clutha River/Mata-au.

The traffic lights will help to protect the historic bridge from the impact of heavy, modern vehicles - by slowing down their approach speed those vehicles will have less damaging impact upon the bridge as they travel across it.

The historic bridge is regularly maintained and inspected.

Most recently, in June contractors replaced running boards on the bridge’s deck, tightened bolts and undertook other maintenance.

The traffic lights were installed shortly afterwards.

Until 1915 a punt ferry transported people across the Clutha River at Luggate.

Construction of the Red Bridge, then known as the Grandview Bridge, began in 1913 and it was completed two years later.

NZTA said the traffic lights helped give the old bridge some “modern help”.

PHOTO: Wānaka App