Debris has now been cleared from the twin bridges across the Waitaki River between Kurow and Hakataramea after two days' work by contractors for the New Zealand Transport Agency.
The work, involving a logging hoist and abseilling tree fellers, started on Thursday and was completed yesterday afternoon.
"A lot of effort was needed plus some Kiwi ingenuity to remove three or four large tree stumps and roots deeply embedded in gravel at the No 1 [north] bridge," he said.
They were freed late yesterday morning using the logging hoist with an extended arm able to reach over the side of the bridge. The tree fellers and a jet-boat played a supporting role.
"There was huge relief all round once everything was removed," he said.
Work removing debris on the shorter No 2 [south] bridge was easier and completed yesterday afternoon.
The bridge was closed during the day while the work was being done, opening for five minutes on the hour and half hour to let traffic get across. Contingency plans had been in place to clear the bridges had they been needed by emergency vehicles.
The debris was caught when it was washed down the river during flood flows of up to 1550cumecs in January and last month.
