May date given for opening of twolane bridge
THE countdown is on for the longawaited opening of Queenstown’s new twolane bridge between Kelvin Heights and Frankton.
Work first began on the $22 million bridge in January 2016. NZ Transport Agency senior project manager Phil Dowsett said both lanes were expected to open next month.
The NZTA did not give any indication of when in May the bridge may be fully operational.
Mr Dowsett said work in recent weeks had focused on the creation of a new walking and cycling underpass and laying new water pipes in the bridge approaches to cater for the ‘‘large growth in develop ments’’ south of Queenstown.
That had been funded by the Queenstown Lakes District Council and it was easier to complete while the bridge was under construction.
Further, utilities companies had commissioned additional ducting to be installed beneath the bridge, ensuring it could continue to meet the increasing demands of the growing population, Mr Dowsett said.
‘‘Completing the work while the bridge is still under construction is the best option and reduces inconvenience to locals by removing the need to dig up the road again or limit access to the bridge in the future.
‘‘The ducting installation will take a couple of weeks and the contractor has pro grammed the work so it won’t have a significant impact on getting both traffic lanes of the new bridge open in May.’’
Piling for a new boardwalk at the southern end of the bridge and highway realignment work was due to be completed this month, with rocks handpacked into nearly 800 steel baskets to create the wall behind it.