Last month, earthworks began to "retrain" the river to spread the pressure of the river’s flows more evenly across the span of the riverbed, reducing the river’s speed and subsequent scouring of the true left river bank
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi Central Otago maintenance contract manager Peter Standring said the work was to protect the Kyeburn bridge abutments.
The $150,000 funding for the work came from the emergency response activity class, part of the national land transport programme.
Retraining the river was a long-term solution to protecting the bridge, Mr Standring said.
The Central Otago District Council (CODC) went to the NZTA last year looking for help to fund $20million of bridge replacements in the next 10 years. The council’s budget for bridge maintenance and renewals is $660,000 a year.
Kyeburn captured national attention when seven moa footprints were discovered in the riverbed close to the bridge by Ranfurly man Michael Johnston in 2019.
They were the first moa prints found in the South Island, although bones and fossilised droppings had been found. The footprints were removed shortly after their discovery by staff from Otago Museum and University of Otago and taken to the museum.
In November last year, a team of research scientists revealed the footprints were 3.6million years old and from the Emeidae family.
A 3D photogrammetry model of the fossil site revealed there was also possibly a member of the Dinornis genus, which included the largest-known species of moa — the South Island giant.
Fully grown females are thought to have been up to 250kg. Although the Kyeburn precursor was lighter, it was still impressive at an estimated weight of 158kg.
