A dangerously run down bridge that loads of the country's vegetables cross over near Mt Ruapehu has won replacement funding.
An engineer’s report found the bridge has broken running boards and broken cross beams that rate as “severe” defects Photo: Supplied
Ruapehu District Council was forced to ban heavy trucks from the dangerously worn one-lane Mangateitei rail overbridge near Ohakune in May, with no fix in sight.
It is the only public route out of a huge carrot and potato-growing area.
Now the Transport Agency has agreed to pay the bulk of the $4.6m needed to replace it.
It was "great news", said local contractor Dave Hammond, who relies on the bridge to get his equipment to jobs.
The agency understood the constraints the bridge was imposing, Mayor Don Cameron said.
"These are significant as it is the only option for the local growers, farmers and forestry who rely on it, and supply produce nationwide and for export including an estimated 20 percent of New Zealand's carrots and potatoes," he said.
Weight restrictions, enforced by automated cameras, remain until the new bridge is put in.
Ruapehu's council got $48m of the $50m it sought from the agency for road maintenance and upgrades over the next three years.
However, like many other councils, it is now having to look at what minor projects to chop.
Councils had feared in April they would fare worse than this; Ruapehua had expected to get less than $47m.
It has ended up with 24 percent more than in the last three-year allocation, Cameron said.
It got all it asked for towards speed management, the Road to Zero safety strategy, and for the Ohakune Mountain Road, but only a quarter of what was sought for minor improvements, such as to maintain surfaces.
