Bridges in New Zealand

The bridges in New Zealand are many and varied but only date back to the beginning of European settlement in the mid 19th century.

Many had combined decks particularly in areas with low traffic, so drivers had to navigate over raised rail tracks.

A combined bridge was at Pekatahi, between Edgecumbe and Taneatua in the Bay of Plenty (the rail line in 2004 was unused, but not closed).

During the 1950s many bridges were built, along with backcountry huts, to give hunters access to forested areas to cull introduced deer which had by that stage become a serious pest.

On April 30, during the 1951 New Zealand waterfront dispute a rail bridge three miles from Huntly, on the Glen Afton branch line, was dynamited.

The rail bridge over the Whangaehu river at Tangiwai had been badly damaged by a lahar from Mount Ruapehu just minutes before a passenger train was due to cross it.

In 1986 the New Zealand Army built the Te Rata Bridge as a training exercise on a private farm owned by the Berryman family.

[11] On 26 March 2019, the Waiho Bridge near Franz Josef Glacier collapsed, following near record levels of rain.