An alarmingly saggy Hawke’s Bay bridge will soon be dismantled and replaced with a temporary Bailey bridge, putting an end to a year of uncertainty and detours.

“Stay away and off the sagging Te Reinga bridge” was the strong warning from Wairoa’s emergency management team after Cyclone Gabrielle.

The 100-metre-long bridge upriver from Te Reinga Falls in Ruakituri was already severely compromised during flooding early last year and was closed to heavy traffic.

Cyclone Gabrielle made things even worse.

The centre pier on the bridge disappeared into the swollen river, causing it to sag between the remaining two piers.

It was closed to all traffic, leaving Ruakituri residents with a two-hour detour to get to Wairoa via Ohuka and Erepeti roads.

Decommissioning the existing bridge will involve weeks of site preparation, with Wairoa civil construction company Quality Roading and Services (QRS) taking on the challenging task.

The Wairoa District Council will direct the project with guidance from WSP engineers.

“Each step has been designed to ensure we can carry out the project safely and in a way that also protects the environment,” QRS construction manager Mike Wilson said.

QRS crews are at work to dismantle the problematic bridge. Photo / Strike Photography

Specialist dive teams, demolition experts, piling and bridging contractors, and crane and tow truck operators will all be involved.

QRS started preparing the site in March by removing the road surface and approaches at either end of the bridge. It also graded and cleared the site.

A safety net has been strung across the river downstream to catch anything or anybody that might fall in, given that the spectacular 35m-high Te Reinga Falls lie just beyond the net.

Work is already underway and this month some of the bridge’s concrete will be removed to lighten its weight.

To do this safely, QRS said it would be deploying a robotic digger and high-reach demolition excavators.

Once the bridge has been removed, a Bailey bridge will be installed between two newly built staging areas.

This bridge will stay in place while a new permanent one is designed and constructed.

Wilson thanked the local community for its patience and said that reconnecting the Ruakituri community with the rest of the Wairoa district was a key motivation for crews.

“When one of us has to drive around to the other side of the river you get a small understanding of what residents have to deal with every time they head to town.

“We’re all committed to get this thing down as safely and quickly as we can so that the community can be reconnected.”