A 610m-long rail bridge over the Rangitata River in South Canterbury sags after flood water washed away one of its 34 piers. Photo: Supplied / Allied Press / Connor Haley
Freight crossings on the Rangitata rail bridge will be paused for another few days while repairs are carried out.
KiwiRail began repairs on Sunday, after the bridge lost one of its 34 piers during flooding on Friday.
Chief infrastructure officer André Lovatt said engineers had inspected the 610-metre bridge this morning, and despite the sagging spans, found it structurally sound.
Work on temporary bridge supports would allow freight train crossings to resume by the middle of next week.
Lovatt said a permanent replacement should be in place two weeks from now, but work could be slowed by more bad weather.
The Rangitata rail bridge before high floodwaters washed away one of its 34 piers on Friday. Photo: Screenshot / Google Maps
The bridge is an important railway linking Invercargill, Dunedin and Christchurch with about eight freight trains ordinarily travelling across it every weekday, and about five each weekend.
Lovatt said on Saturday he was committed to keeping freight moving for customers and was working with those affected to find alternative options for them.
"We will continue to run rail services from the north to Christchurch and Ashburton and from the south to Timaru. Connecting rail freight will be managed using road bridging operations."
No passenger trains travel on the line south of Christchurch, he said.