That means good news for commuters regularly travelling through the Ballance Valley Rd/Gorge Rd area, who have been unable to cross Bremner’s Bridge for the last three weeks.
Heavy rain one weekend in September caused damage to the bridge and blocked culverts and drains on other parts of Ballance Valley Rd/Gorge Rd.
The bridge structure itself was undamaged, however approaches at either end were affected by the washouts.
The flooding caused significant damage to the approaches to the bridge.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi system manager Liesl Dawson said crews worked hard to get the road back open as quickly as possible.
Contractors excavated under the approaches, built them back with aggregate and installed rock walls and geo grid matting to stabilise the land under the road. Six hundred tonnes of rock have been used in the new rock walls.
Heavy rain washed out a section of Bremner’s Bridge on Balance Valley Rd last month.
“The flooding caused significant damage to the approaches to the bridge, so to get the work done this quickly is testament to the hard work put in by those on site,” she said.
“The crews have also spent the past three weeks unblocking culverts and drains following the flooding, and installing two new sumps and additional pipework. The drainage work is crucial to making this a more resilient route for all road users.”
Heavy rain washed out a section of Bremner’s Bridge on Balance Valley Rd.
“Ballance Valley Rd is an important connection between Pahīatua Track and the old Gorge Rd. We know the closure has been frustrating for people who regularly use the road as a connection between Manawatū and Tararua. We appreciate people’s support over the past three weeks while this work has been carried out.
“If you’re driving the road, please be mindful crews will still be in the area, and there’s likely to be stop/go traffic management and a temporary lower speed limit in place while work nearby, like damaged pavements, is finished.”
