Work poised to start on designing new Kawarau Falls Bridge

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The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) just awarded the design contract for the new Kawarau Falls Bridge to Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM).

The contract covers the initial design of a proposed two-lane bridge to be built alongside the existing single-lane Kawarau Falls Bridge at Frankton on State Highway 6 (SH6) near Queenstown.

NZTA Southern Regional Director Jim Harland says SKM will manage the contract utilising planning and design experience from around New Zealand with the addition of specialist International expertise in bridge design.

“Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) will be closely involved in the design process reflecting the bridge’s importance as the southern gateway to Queenstown. Consultation, the initial design and resource consent applications are all expected to be completed by the end of the year he said.

Mr Harland said the construction of a new bridge is not in the Agency’s three-year State Highway Plan that was launched last month. This Plan will be reviewed annually. To get the construction go ahead, this project has to compete in a very tight funding environment with other priority state highway bridges and road projects nationwide.

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