Contractors working on the new Kawarau Falls bridge near Queenstown have begun fitting the steel girders that will support its road deck.
Meanwhile, drilling work for the $22million bridge's piers continues from temporary ``trestle'' platforms jutting into the Kawarau River from both banks.
NZ Transport Agency senior project manager Phil Dowsett said getting the first three girders to the site from Napier was no easy task. Transporting them by sea was considered uneconomic because of the girders' length, so it was decided to bring them by road, he said. To bring all the girders to Queenstown, 40 truckloads will make the four-day trip from Napier.
About 40 people are working on the 250m, two-lane curving structure, which is expected to open by Christmas.
