New Mangaweka Bridge on track for completion next June

Sixty seven concrete platforms will form the base of the new road surface. Photo / Supplied

The new Mangaweka Bridge is moving closer to completion.

Crews have installed 67 concrete platforms over the Rangitīkei River in recent weeks, with more concrete being poured to join them together.

That will form the base of the new road surface.

The platforms were cast in Whanganui by Emmetts Civil Construction, transported to the site then lifted in by crane to sit on pins that stick out from the steel beams below.

Costs of the project are being shared equally between the Rangitīkei District Council and Manawatū District Council.

The bridge, just off State Highway 1, will form part of the Manawatū Scenic Route once completed.

It is expected to carry an Annual Average Daily Traffic of 274 vehicles.

Manawatū District Council communications officer Ben Caldwell said the next step would be to install side barriers on the bridge.

"Surfacing work will be done once the platforms are all in place," Caldwell said.

"There's also the road on either side of the bridge to be completed."

Caldwell said the bridge was on schedule to be completed by June next year.

"Construction had to stop during the Level 4 lockdown in August and September, but it resumed as soon as we moved into Level 3."

The old bridge, located 30 metres upstream, has been retained for walking and cycling.