Ashburton Second Bridge Work Ramps Up

Thursday, 8 May 2025, 8:40 pm
Article: Jonathan Leask - Local Democracy Reporter

Construction of Ashburton’s long-awaited second bridge could start as early as March.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi project manager Lonnie Dalzell said the start date was dependent on consent and procurement.

Once the construction starts, it will be an 18-24 month build, he told the Ashburton District Council on Wednesday.

Dalzell was making his first project presentation to the council and will be a regular guest at meetings to discuss the joint project.

In his eight years with NZTA, the second bridge project is “one of the more shovel-ready ones I’ve come across”, he said.

Property is the biggest risk on any project, and the consenting is half-done, he said.

The council has secured all but one property, which is currently being negotiated.

Dalzell said the riverbed land will be a direct Crown transfer now the bridge is a NZTA project, which has approval from Ngāi Tahu, he said.

The consent process will likely go directly to Environment Canterbury rather than through the Government’s fast-track option as it's “a relatively non-complex application”.

The application will be lodged in August, while NZTA looks to appoint a technical advisor and then tender the project before September, he said.

Site investigations along the route are underway, and later this month NZTA will drill 30m bore holes in the riverbed to test where the piers will go, he said.

“The more [physical investigations] we can do prior to getting the design and construction underway, the better it will be.

"We have done lizard investigations and other flora and fauna within the corridor to help our assessment of environmental effects for our consent application.

“We have also been meeting with ECan river engineers and the consenting team to try and resolve any issues prior to even getting to consent.”

One of those issues is managing a construction site in an area home to the endangered tarāpuka (black-billed gulls) that are found along the Hakatere/Ashburton River.

NZTA and ECan seem to be aligned on how that is managed, Dalzell said.

[subhead] Request to use local shingle

Ashburton Mayor Neil Brown said the community has waited a long time for the project to get to this stage.

He also told Dalzell the bridge and connecting road project will need shingle and concrete, “and we have both of them right there”.

“We’d probably like to see shingle being used from the Ashburton River because it will assist in another issue we have with shingle building up.”

Council chief executive Hamish Riach said the council presented its submission on ECan’s annual plan hearing on Tuesday, which included a request for special consideration for local river gravel to be used for the project.

“It made sense both for the project and also for the river protection work ECan needs to carry out.

“[ECan] are open to have that conversation. That conversation needs to be now, of course, so it’s reflected in any work that we do through the tender [process].”

Dalzell said he had also briefly discussed gravel options with ECan.

-LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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