Bridge 57 Pier Washout – Rangitata River

When a severe flood swept away Pier 8 of KiwiRail’s 610-metre Bridge 57 over the Rangitata River (Te Awa o Rangitata), it severed a critical freight link between Ōtautahi (Christchurch) and Ōtepoti (Dunedin). Our emergency repair work showcases our team’s innovation and resilience under immense pressure.

KiwiRail needed a rapid solution to restore the Main South Line. They needed to move fast, but ensure works were delivered to high safety, quality, and environmental standards. With no design to work from, our team had to be extremely agile and think on their feet, developing work plans in the evening ready to be implemented the following day.

The works were extraordinary – diverting a 530-metre-wide river in four days, installing a temporary support structure to hold 40 tonnes of hanging steel, and driving bespoke piles through boulders and buried debris to a founding depth of 20 metres. Within 10 days, trains were running again, and the permanent fix, including a 44-tonne precast pier head, a job that would normally take five months when including the design and procurement elements, was completed in just six weeks,

Despite the fast-paced work, our team remained committed to reducing their environmental impacts, salvaging aquatic life during river diversion, and reinstating the riverbed to its natural state once works were complete. The repair reduced thousands of truck movements on SH1, cutting emissions and congestion.

This project reconnected a vital freight route and set a benchmark for emergency response. It strengthened KiwiRail’s network and delivered long-term social, economic, and cultural benefits for Te Waipounamu communities.

This mahi was recognised with a National CCNZ Award for Category 1 (projects $5 – 20M) 2025, and a Canterbury/Westland CCNZ Award for Category B (projects $500k – 2.5M) 2024.

Read more here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/award-winning-emergency-response-project-nz-contractor-magazine-gzchc/