STATE HIGHWAY 25 a disgrace – Boundary Creek Bridge to be reduced to one lane

The NZ Transport Agency has today issued a media release advising that a two-way bridge over Boundary Creek (approximately 22km’s north of Thames) is to be reduced to a single lane for safety reasons from 15 November.

The bridge deck and beams, known together as the superstructure, are ageing due to sea salt spray and need to be replaced.

For the bridge to remain open traffic will be directed across one lane in the centre of the bridge says Waikato System Manager Cara Lauder.

“The condition of the superstructure means that reducing it to one lane ensures it can safely remain in use for all vehicles, including trucks,” Ms Lauder says.

NZTA have issues with other bridges on state highway 25. The Hikuai bailey bridge is under a constant state of repair with a replacement urgently needed but NZTA are only saying that “further repairs are to be done and a new deck installed next year” but there remains no commitment as to when it will happen. A business case for the replacement of the Pepe Stream Bridge in Tairua is currently underway but again there is no commitment or time frame for when work will start if ever?

We’re currently seeing a programme of road patching on SH25 which is repairing areas where the current seal has deteriorated.

NZTA have not been able to give any timeframe as to when any of bridge repairs/replacement will take place. They now have another bridge with the Boundary Creek bridge added to the list of causalities on SH25. People travelling to and from Western areas are now likely to experience traffic delays during peak travel periods.