19 bridges to be replaced

The Southland District Council plans to replace 19 bridges throughout the district during the next 12 months.

Work has already begun at the Cook Rd bridge in the Awarua Wetlands.

A council spokesperson said the 19 bridges chosen for the programme were all old, timber, single-span bridges that provided the only access to nearby properties.

Work has been divided into northern and southern contracts. SouthRoads will replace nine bridges in northern Southland, while Downer will handle the 10 in the south.

The programme would need to be extended in the coming years, the spokesperson said.

There are 850 bridges in the district, and 171 of them would need to be replaced or closed in the next 12 years, with 22 more in need of work in the following eight years.

Based on current allocated funding, ‘‘there is a significant shortfall in money available to replace all these bridges within the next 12 years’’, the spokesperson said.

Unbudgeted expenditure of $3 million was approved by the council last year to help resolve a portion of the immediate shortfall.

The New Zealand Transport Agency will pay 51 per cent of the cost, bringing the council’s share to $1.47m.

The council’s strategic manager for transport, Hartley Hare, said the budget simply didn’t cover the work that was needed. ‘‘It is fair to say that assets have been sweated over a long time to keep rates at an affordable level, but that is no longer sustainable.’’

This issue of bridge infrastructure was raised as part of the council’s Long-term Plan for 2018-28, but the replacement needed to be sped up because of how quickly the timber bridges were deteriorating, Hare said.

Funding for the remaining bridges would be considered as part of the 2021-31 Longterm Plan, he said.

Based on the 2018 asset valuation, the work would cost about $35m, Hare said.