Formalities were conducted mid-afternoon yesterday on the western approach for the new bridge on the edge of Kakanui village.
Representatives from Te Rūnanga o Moeraki blessed the site earlier in the afternoon.
In a private ceremony just before 3.30pm, Mayor Gary Kircher, acting Waitaki District Council chief executive Lisa Baillie, road subcommittee chairman Cr Jim Thomson and Corriedale ward councillor John McCone attempted the sod-turning.
However, the ground was so hard, their shovels barely made a dent.
Waitaki District Council project contractors Whitestone Contracting and Concrete Structures (NZ) Ltd were on hand, while disappointed local residents belatedly finding out about the the ceremony arrived to find it had already happened.
The replacement will be a concrete, single-lane bridge with an attached 1.5m pedestrian and cycle path.
Kakanui Ratepayers and Improvement Society (KRAIS) chairman Chris Barnes said the formal start of the project came after years of lobbying.
"KRAIS have facilitated four meetings with council. We’ve relayed feedback of the community’s collective views.
"We’ve got a good result: a like-for-like replacement with a cycleway."
Feeling remains in the Kakanui community about the planned demolition of the old bridge.
This was reflected in the comment of one bystander yesterday.
"Pulling this down is cultural vandalism."
However, council staff have previously cited slash as among risk issues if the old bridge stays.
The single-lane replacement does reflect funding limitations.
A key player behind the project, Cr Guy Percival, has previously cited struggles to get the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi seal of approval over the past 11 years.
The new bridge will be capable of taking heavy goods vehicles and will secure the alternate State Highway1 route south of Oamaru given the vulnerability of the Kakanui crossing at Maheno.
