Bridge upgrade starts in Wairarapa

Work started on the new Waiohine Bridge yesterday with the great-great-great grandsons of the man who operated New Zealand's first toll bridge at the same site.

The current bridge, between Carterton and Greytown, is the narrowest bottleneck on Wairarapa's State Highway 2 and the new $4.3 million replacement will provide a safer more convenient alternative.

Transport Safety Minister Harry Duynhoven, Transit New Zealand general manager of transport planning Wayne McDonald and Wairarapa representative on the Greater Wellington Regional Council, Rick Long, were at the riverbed to usher in the latest major upgrade to the region's main road.

Mr Long said traffic currently approaches the narrow bridge with a "good deal of trepidation" and he was glad the long-called-for replacement was under way.

The new bridge will be built 10m downstream and will be 10.6m wide. This means there will be enough room for cyclists on both sides.

Today's bridge was built in 1914 and has proved to be a tight fit for large traffic. It is crossed by 8000 vehicles a day, 1000 of which are heavy commercial vehicles.

From 1872-1886 AJ Ordish lived in a shack near the bridge and collected a toll from travellers at a gate.

Yesterday Mr Ordish's great great granddaughter Melanie Ordish and her sons, Andrew, Benjamin, and Callum, were there to give the event some historical context.

There have been three bridges since their ancestor manned his lonely post and the heritage society still have the original toll gate.

Transit is incorporating the historic artefact into the design of the new site. It will be placed amid landscaping on a bund near the bridge with a plaque outlining its significance.

- WAIRARAPA TIMES-AGE (MASTERTON)