The new bridge will be constructed at least two years earlier than anticipated, at a cost of $20 million to $25 million.
Construction of the two-lane bridge is now expected to begin next year after the Government, in a surprise move, confirmed $212 million - proceeds from the partial sale of state-owned assets in the past term - would be spent on 14 state highway projects.
The bridge is one of five high-priority regional projects for which $80 million has been committed.
Neither Queenstown Lakes Mayor Vanessa van Uden nor council chief executive Adam Feeley could be reached for comment last night but Queenstown Chamber of Commerce chairman Charlie Phillips said a two-lane bridge was a key piece of infrastructure in improving the district's road access, particularly with Frankton's growing importance as a commercial area.
Mr Phillips, who is also chairman of the Kelvin Peninsula Community Association, said although using the one-lane bridge was ''better than swimming'', the announcement was good news for the suburb, which had an increasing number of permanent residents as well as holiday home owners.
The existing one-lane bridge, which crosses the Kawarau River on State Highway 6 in Frankton, links Queenstown to the Remarkables Ski Area, Southland and Fiordland, and is controlled by traffic lights.
Built in 1926, the bridge handles about 450 vehicles an hour, rising to about 580 between 5pm and 6pm. In the last Christmas-New Year period, about 750 vehicles an hour tried to cross, resulting in long queues.
The bridge has also required regular maintenance. In the past 10 years, the NZ Transport Agency has spent almost $500,000 on repairs.
Clutha-Southland MP Bill English said the Kawarau Falls Bridge had served Queenstown well since 1926 but it was time for a ''strong link'' between Queenstown and the rest of the region.
''If the current bridge is inaccessible for any reason, the only alternative southern access into the Wakatipu Basin involves a detour of up to 380km.''
However, Labour leader David Cunliffe said the announcement was an ''election year U-turn''.
''After six years in office, and three months out from the election, the Government has suddenly decided to return some of the road funding it took from the regions to pay for its $12 billion `roads of national significance'.''
A new bridge has been designed and approved and construction, once under way, is expected to take about two years.
The final legal roadblock to the project was removed late last year when Remarkables Park Ltd and the Frankton Community Association independently withdrew appeals against the notice of requirement to alter the existing designation to enable construction, operation and maintenance of a new two-lane bridge.
The withdrawals meant an Environment Court hearing set for last November did not go ahead. However, at best, a new bridge was not expected to open for about five years.
The other four projects classified by the Government as being ''critically important'' are in Canterbury, Northland, Gisborne and Taranaki.
