Designers have been appointed for the Kawarau Falls double lane bridge, which the New Zealand Transport Agency has dubbed "the southern gateway to Queenstown", despite it not getting construction approval.
The NZTA has awarded the design contract for the $19 million project to Australian-based global engineering firm Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM).
"The contract covers the initial design of a proposed two-lane bridge to be built alongside the existing single-lane Kawarau Falls bridge at Frankton on State Highway 6 near Queenstown," NZTA southern regional director Jim Harland said.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council would be involved in the process.
Consultation, the initial design and resource consent applications are all expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Mr Harland said the bridge was not in NZTA's three-year state highway plan launched last month.
"This plan will be reviewed annually. To get the construction to go ahead, this project has to compete in a very tight funding environment with other priority state highway bridges and road projects nationwide."
