A lobby group will continue its battle over the location of a new bridge planned for Frankton, despite an official report backing the status quo.
The New Zealand Transport Agency confirmed yesterday it would stick to its original plan for replacing the ageing one-lane Kawarau Falls Bridge on State Highway 6.
The agency's southern region director, Jim Harland, says a new assessment confirms its choice of location will ''best address current and future needs'', and construction of a $25 million bridge immediately downstream of the existing one will proceed later this year.
But group member Hudson Turnbull says the agency has refused to listen, and the fight is ''far from finished''.
In April, the group persuaded the Queenstown Lakes District Council to request the agency review its choice of site.
It wants the bridge built further downstream - linking with a yet-to-be-built eastern arterial road - to alleviate congestion at two key Frankton roundabouts.
The agency refused to provide the Otago Daily Times with a copy of its assessment until after it met the group's members in Queenstown next week.
But Mr Harland said it had taken account of future growth in Queenstown and Frankton Flats, and used traffic modelling to compare the costs of the alternative locations.
If the current rate of development in the Wakatipu Basin continued or accelerated over the next decade or so, a second bridge over the Kawarau River could be required, he said.
Mr Turnbull said the group wanted to meet agency representatives several weeks ago, but had been met with ''stonewalling''.
It was prepared to admit defeat if presented with a convincing argument, but instead the agency had ignored its submission.
''How can you have a debate when it's one-sided?''Under the group's plan, the old bridge would remain open for Kelvin Peninsula traffic.
''We've got two bridges under our plan. They've only got one, and this faint promise of another.''
They would continue with their research ahead of the meeting.
''In our view, this is far from finished.
''Once we've seen their modelling and we can compare the options correctly, then we'll have a good picture of what we need to do.''
