Gisborne District Council’s programme to rebuild and repair storm damaged bridges continues to make progress.

Since funding was approved in October last year, Council has repaired 59 of 97 bridges requiring major repairs and more than half of the 36 needing minor fixes.

Community Lifelines Director Tim Barry says the rebuild of St Legers Bridge in Tiniroto is also one step closer, with the construction tender now out to open market.

“The design contracts for Mata (Huiarua), Grays and Pauariki Bridges have been awarded to specialist bridge designers RoadLab, and progress continues to be made on alternative access options for Mangatai and Burgess Bridges,” he said.

“Everything is tracking well to have all four new bridges start construction in the next 12 months, with St Legers first to get underway this spring.

“Our focus is making our limited funding go as far as possible, which means building solutions which are fit-for-purpose and value-for-money. We are confident we’ve got the right balance in our planning.

“We appreciate the community’s patience as this process is complex and takes time to complete resource consent applications, designs, reports and approvals. As a team who is passionate about reconnecting our communities, we’re looking forward some more big milestones coming up.”

See updates on our bridge repair programme: https://www.gdc.govt.nz/services/roads/bridge-repair-works

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