This project saw construction of the new two-lane bridge over the Ōpaoa River on State Highway 1 (SH1), and the refurbishment of the historic Ōpaoa Bridge into a pedestrian and cycleway bridge, to improve road safety and access.
To revitalise the heritage of the existing Ōpaoa Bridge, Downer repaired and cleaned the existing old bowstring arch bridge (known locally as the banana bridge) and installed LED colour lighting to accentuate the form and structure of the bridge. The Ōpaoa Bridge was awarded a prestigious 2021 Heritage Award by Engineering New Zealand.
The new two-lane bridge encompassed 8 x 24m (nominal) spans of nine hollow core beams superstructure, supported by a substructure of seven piers and two abutment caps, single piers, and abutments. 500 stone columns were installed to provide ground improvement beneath the abutments.
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