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Testing: The first train crosses the Opihi River rail bridge, 10 days after flood waters damaged a pier. Photo: John Bisset / Fairfax NZ |
28 June 2013Bridge repair a tricky, cold job
An unhelpful river, bleak weather and freezing overnight temperatures were just some of the elements those repairing the flood-damaged Opihi rail bridge have had to contend with.
But the freight must get through, and the first train in 10 days crossed the bridge yesterday. Around the same time, crews which had worked around the clock to carry out the temporary repairs were heading home to a warm house and some sleep.
The flooded Opihi River damaged a pier on the rail bridge on Monday last week, closing the line and swinging into action a 24-hours-a-day repair operation. It was the worst flood damage to the bridge since 2000.
Initially it had been planned to carry out the repairs from the north side of the river, but the river refused to co-operate. It failed to drop enough to be diverted away from the repair site. Instead, an 800-metre track solid enough to take heavy machinery had to be formed across paddocks on the south side of the river, a KiwiRail spokesman said.
Even when the river did drop from its 890cumecs peak, the flooding wasn't over. Two days after the original storm, the river rose again, this time to around 400 cumecs. And the advice from Environment Canterbury was that that could recur, thanks to snow falling and melting inland. All of which made sinking 12m foundations for the temporary pier no easy matter.
"For the first three days it was just bitter cold southerlies," the spokesman said. Then it did fine up, only for temperatures to fall well below freezing at night. The sort of cold that eight layers of clothing did not keep out.
By mid-afternoon yesterday, the crews were starting to dismantle their worksite. And as they did a train travelled over the bridge. The line was officially reopened. SOURCE: Rhonda Markby, The Timaru Herald
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