Repaint plans for Victoria St Bridge
Scaffolding will soon pop up around Cambridge’s Victoria St Bridge so it can be repainted in sections. Traffic won’t be affected in the first stage of the job, which also includes maintenance, but Waipā District Council is still working out whether it could be as work progresses. The work site was blessed by kaumātua Harry Wilson of Ngāti Korokı¯ Kahukura in an early morning ceremony last week. The bridge was built in 1905 and brought from New York by ship, in separate pieces, the council has previously said. It needs a repaint every 20-25 years because it’s exposed to ‘‘harsh weather and corrosive pigeon poo’’. Waipā District Council service delivery group manager Dawn Inglis said the blessing was a milestone for the project. ‘‘As with any large infrastructure project, it is important that we acknowledge the history of the area and those who have come before us.’’ Council contractors are setting up the construction site and delivering materials, with scaffolding work to start after that. Inglis said traffic would not be affected by the first stage of repainting works. ‘‘From this week onwards, residents will see crews in highvis working around the base of the bridge as they set up a site office and fencing around the area where they’ll be working. This will not affect traffic across the bridge.’’ The bridge will be scaffolded and repainted in sections starting at the Cambridge town side. At the same time, maintenance work will also be carried out. Council is still working with its contractor, InterGroup, to understand whether traffic movement may be affected during the later stages of the project in 2023. ‘‘Our aim is to minimise disruption as much as possible and that is what we are working towards. We’ll continue to keep residents updated as we progress.’’ More information about the project is available at waipadc. govt.nz/victoriastreetbridge. Residents can also sign up to a project e-newsletter for regular updates.