$1.2m suspension bridge set to bring visitors to Taranaki
The construction of the 110m-long Manganui Gorge suspension bridge on Taranaki Maunga is on track to be completed by the end of April, with the first decking already in place.
Work on the $1.2 million bridge started in November and all the groundwork is due to be completed this month.
The bridge will significantly improve the approach to the Manganui skifield, which is currently accessed via a relatively perilous track around the gorge that typically takes 15 to 20 minutes to walk, but can take longer depending on conditions.
Department of Conservation (DOC) New Plymouth operations manager Gareth Hopkins said the new bridge was the biggest track infrastructure project on the maunga.
“We need to be safe and I think this gorge is prone to avalanches, it’s prone to lahar coming down – it’s not safe.
“So this is a great way to provide safe passage over the gorge,” he said.
The bridge, which would allow visitors and trampers to avoid the gorge by walking over it, would have no weight restriction, Hopkins said, so there would be no limits on the number of people crossing it.
He said the ambitious project had a 100 year lifespan.
The bridge, which skiers and snowboarders will cross to reach the Manganui Ski Area, will sit almost 50 metres above the valley floor and will be 1.2m wide.
“I think it will be more than just safe passage, I think it will be a destination. People will come to see the bridge because of its uniqueness.
“I am pretty sure there is going to be exciting cultural narrative connected to this bridge when we get to see it,” Hopkins said.
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment principal regional advisor for Taranaki Bridget Sullivan said the project has been overseen by a governance group including Taranaki iwi, DOC and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
She said the new bridge was part of the Taranaki Crossing project, which was one of the top priorities identified by the strategy for regional economic development.
“We could see after a big economic analysis that there is a lot of potential for Taranaki through increased tourism and so many experiences that can be on offer on this mountain.
“But we had to invest in upgrading the facilities to make it safer and a lot more accessible to a much bigger range of people,” she said.
The project was budgeted to cost $1.2m, which came from the Provincial Growth Fund.
Wayne Boness, DOC project infrastructure lead for the Taranaki Crossing, said the designers made sure people walking across the 110m-long bridge would not be thrown around.
He said anchors for the masts have been drilled 6m into the rock to make sure they could take the load.
Abseil Access has been contracted to install the bridge over the gorge.
Site manager Matthew Thom said the steep, craggy gorge did not make the access to the site and the lifting of materials easy.
“Mount Taranaki is a really rugged beautiful place, but you know, with that rugged beauty comes the inclement weather and challenges associated with that,” he said.
Thom said parts and components of the bridge were flown in by helicopter.
A small team of four abseilers were working on the project, he said.