Bridge work to close road to Kaitāia Airport for 10 weeks

The bridge on Quarry Rd leading to Kaitāia Airport is to be upgraded, but the road will have to be closed for 10 weeks while the work is undertaken.

The bridge leading to Kaitāia Airport is getting a $1.3 million upgrade but it means having to close Quarry Road for 10 weeks.

Far North District Council said a detour will be in place for 10 weeks from Monday, March 3, as Northland Regional Council begins an important bridge extension project.

The detour will be along Donald Rd and all motorists travelling to the airport will need to travel through Kaitāia and follow the route. It is about the same distance from Kaitāia to the airport and includes 3km of gravel road on Quarry Rd.

Travellers going to the airport from the north and east coast will need to allow for extra time to travel to Kaitāia first.

Funding for the upgrade - which is part of the regional council’s wider multimillion dollar Awanui Flood Scheme improvements - comes from the Government’s Regional Infrastructure Fund for consented priority flood resilience projects that will protect land and assets during severe weather.

Quarry Rd, leading to Kaitāia Airport, will be closed for 10 weeks while a $1.3 million upgrade of the road’s bridge is carried out

Altogether $660,000 comes from the fund, and $440,000 from the regional council.

The work will fix a ‘pinch point’ in the flood scheme and will take place in two phases. The first section of the work will allow for earthworks underneath a proposed 15m extension of the bridge - which will open an additional 12m span - and support the wider Awanui scheme.

The extra span on the bridge will reduce the risk of flooding to surrounding houses and the Awanui township. A second section of work will involve construction of the bridge extension and associated works.

Removing the flood ‘pinch point’ should help prevent the town and nearby area from flooding in extreme weather events, Northland regional councillor Joe Carr said.

Carr, who also chairs the Awanui Flood Management Committee, said the bridge was highlighted as a flooding ‘pinch point’ during a storm in August 2020.

“The additional capacity created by the Quarry Rd works will further add to the significant improvements the Awanui scheme already offers in terms of reducing the risk of flooding to adjacent properties and the township of Awanui.”

Carr said the work was part of a wider project on the spillway and, when completed, should reduce the risk of flooding in both Kaitāia and Awanui.