Merivale bridges to be demolished and replaced

Two bridges in Merivale will be demolished and rebuilt, as the structures have reached the end of their design life.

The bridges at Poynder Avenue and Garden Road will be rebuilt to new structural standards.

Works commence from 4 March 2024, with each bridge expected to take approximately four months to complete.

The Poynder Avenue bridge will be constructed first, and once the new bridge is opened, workers will then move to the Garden Road bridge.

Transport Planning and Delivery Manager Jacob Bradbury says the bridges have reached the end of their design life and need to be upgraded for safety reasons.

“We appreciate this project will be disruptive to nearby residents and to road users, but we are aiming to minimise this by doing one bridge at a time. Our contractors will be doing their best to have these works completed as quickly as possible, but there will be increased trucks and machinery in the area while the works are going on.”

The works will involve demolishing the existing bridges, relocating Orion and Chorus cables, and installing precast structures for the bridges.

The design for the new bridges includes the addition of pedestrian footpaths.

The road will be closed at the location of the bridges during the demolition and construction of the structures, with traffic detours in place.