Lake Wānaka Tourism chief executive Tim Barke said while the Department of Conservation’s decision to close the Blue Pools and Rob Roy bridges would "certainly have some impact" on tourism, there were plenty of alternative options for visitors.
"I don’t think it’s significantly going to affect the experience of visitors to Wānaka, or the local community," he said.
"It’ll be an inconvenience for some people but the Department of Conservation also has to do what they need to to be able to ensure that all the infrastructure is safe and fit for purpose."
Doc announced on Friday it was closing the Blue Pools and Rob Roy bridges for "major upgrades", while the Makarora bridge would need replacing entirely.
Doc Central Otago operations manager David Butt said Doc hoped to have the bridges to Makarora and the Blue Pools reopened by March next year, while the expected finish date for the Rob Roy bridge required further consultation.
"Engineering and design work on Blue Pools and Makarora bridges are under way and we’re aiming to have these reopened by March.
"Rob Roy requires a geotechnical engineering investigation. We’ll have a better idea of timeframes once that’s complete."
While options to reduce inconvenience to visitors and locals were considered, Doc decided closing the bridges until completion would be the safest course of action.
"We investigated options like reducing load limits until we could complete the work," Mr Butt said.
"However, we decided we were not comfortable with the risk."
- By Regan Harris
