Steel plates purchased for the Minden bridge on a Tauranga project have taken a detour to a new destination – the State Highway 25A bridge build in the Coromandel.

The urgency of the Kōpū-Hikuai Rd project meant the Waka Kotahi Coromandel team had to take a dynamic approach to reconnecting both sides of the Peninsula, says Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency regional manager of infrastructure delivery Jo Wilton.

“The problem was, how fast can we construct a 124-metre, three-span bridge with the expectation that the road will be open to traffic by March 2024?”

This is where Tauranga’s Takitimu North Link project came into the picture, with Waka Kotahi agreeing to redirect the steel plates purchased for one of the Minden Road bridges to fabricate the beams for the SH25A bridge instead.

“These plates weren’t due to be fabricated into beams for installation at the Minden site until the next year so were able to be repurposed for SH25A and still replaced in time to meet their revised programme,” says Jo.

“The bridges on both projects are designed with steel beams of a very similar profile. There are slight dimensional differences however the steel thicknesses are equal for the most part.”

“It is a great example of collaboration and prioritisation to support those communities with the greatest need in a timely way. And frankly, the SH25A bridge wouldn’t be getting built this quickly as it is without this kind of thinking.”