The Totara rail bridge. Photo: West Coast New Zealand History
- The bridge will close on Monday 19 August
- With the bridge closed the nearest point where trail users can start/finish their journey will be at Ruatapu
- The distance from the closed bridge back to Ruatapu is 9.8km
The Westland District Council is closing the Totara rail bridge due to the possibility of a sudden failure of truss spans in its structure.
The bridge is used as a pedestrian and cycle access for the popular West Coast Wilderness trail, which spans the Totara River near the township of Ross in South Westland.
Acting group manager district assets Erle Bencich said there were no alternative routes.
"Unfortunately there is no way around the bridge to create a diversion in the wilderness trail that would provide safe access to or from the Ross township. We understand this will inconvenience trail users, tourism operators and the local farmer who uses the bridge.
"However, after the most recent advice we received on the state of the bridge's structure, we have no choice but to order an immediate closure," Bencich said.
The council has been talking with stakeholders to give them time to make arrangements but said a longer notice period was not possible.
"In May 2023 we received a report which identified that the bridge had deteriorated to the point that its capacity to support pedestrian loading was becoming compromised."
Council was therefore facing a decision on whether it was economic to repair or replace. Initial estimates suggested that $2 million would be needed to restore the bridge to a fit-for-purpose state, with a further $3m to $5m over the short to medium term.
"Now, however, after moving forward with options assessments and undertaking further design inspections, we were, unfortunately, advised in June this year that the risk of sudden failure is too high to allow the bridge to continue to be used. This was confirmed again this week following a request for a possible extension.
"Our specialist engineering advisers also report that there are no practical measures to restore the bridge to a serviceable condition for the coming tourist season without significant investment which, given the very poor state of the bridge, is simply not an economic option for ratepayers," Bencich said.
The council has begun investigating possible designs and costings to replace the bridge, or to change the start/ end of the Wilderness Trail if it proves to be not viable economically.
A report will go to the August council meeting for councillors to discuss the options.
The bridge will be closed from Monday.