Victoria Street Bridge FAQ

Traffic movement across the bridge will not be affected by early repainting works in 2022. This includes during the whole of National Fieldays in late November/early December.

We expect there will be some disruption to traffic from early 2023 and are still working with our contractor to understand what this will look like. We anticipate being able to share this information with the community in the coming month.

We will be repainting the bridge and carrying out maintenance work in sections. Once we start moving towards the middle of the bridge, it may be necessary to reduce the bridge to one lane of traffic or fully close it for short periods of time (i.e. overnight) due to the weight of the scaffolding and for the safety of those working on the bridge. We’ll know more about what may be needed in the coming month and will share this information with the community as soon as possible.

The scaffolding will be wrapped to prevent any paint particles or other debris from falling into the river below. It also creates a controlled environment for painting. However, when there are moderate or high winds, the wrapping acts like a big sail increasing the strain on the bridge.

Monitoring equipment including wind and strain gauges will ensure that weight on the bridge is kept to a safe level, but if wind speeds get too high then the bridge may need to be reduced to one-lane or closed for a short period of time.

The bridge needs to be repainted on average every 20-25 years because it is exposed to harsh weather and corrosive pigeon poo which over time leads to deterioration of the paint. The paint provides an important protective layer over the steel preventing rusting and corrosion.

Work to start scaffolding the bridge and setting up the site will begin from late October/early November 2022. This will be followed by the repainting and maintenance works which will be carried out in sections. We aim to complete the whole project in late 2023.

The maintenance work we will be carrying out includes removing and replacing small areas of steel where there is rust and corrosion and replacing some rivets and bolts where necessary as well as minor concrete repairs.

Over the 12 months project period, it is likely there will be other projects also underway to improve our roads. We’ll try to minimise any further disruption to traffic in Cambridge as much as possible and will regularly update residents when we know of any upcoming works.

We’re putting together a business case to understand what the future transport network will look like for Cambridge, including provision for a further river crossing as it is expected that Victoria Bridge will be “retired” at some time in the future. We won’t know any more about a third bridge until this has been completed. You can find out more about this project at https://www.waipadc.govt.nz/your-waipa/majorprojects/cambridge-connections-our-future-transport-plan.