The old wooden and steel pedestrian bridge over railway lines at the bottom of Wansbeck St is to get a new lease of life under a restoration project by a trust.
The central section of the bridge, believed to be one of only about a half dozen left in New Zealand, has been removed and taken away to be restored at Gillies Metaltech, while a working bee on March 3 will start replacing timber.
The work is being done and funded by the Friendly Bay Railway Bridge Restoration Trust.
When the Waitaki District Council was investigating restoring the bridge, which has been closed for decades, an engineering report put the cost at between $144,000 and $286,000, depending on its condition.
Council property manager Dougall McIntyre said this week that, with the input and voluntary efforts of the trust along with applications for grants from outside sources, the cost to the council was expected to be "in the tens of thousands", rather than the original estimate.
The group is restoring the steel work on the bridge and using hardwood timber for decking and railings, which has been stockpiled for recycling from bridges throughout the district.
Mr McIntyre said that the work done during the working bee on March 3 would give an indication of the time needed to restore and reopen the bridge.
"They will see how far they can get in one day and then gauge how long it will take," Mr McIntyre said.
The bridge provided pedestrian access to and from Friendly Bay over railway lines used by goods trains to get to the railways goods yard and shed, before it was closed.
The track is now used by Oamaru Steam and Rail on train trips from its Itchen St station to the Red Sheds at the harbour
