Ashburton's bridge: another weak infrastructure link

Ashburton's bridge: another weak infrastructure link
Flooding at Ashburton affected both rail and road connections to the lower South Island
Tim Hurdle
The closure caused by flood damage of the 90 year-old Ashburton Bridge has this week effectively cut off the lower half of the South Island from the rest of the country.The alternative route takes over ten hours.Ashburton has been talking about a second bridge since 2006. Wouldn’t that have been useful right now?Once again, New Zealand’s vulnerability to weak infrastructure has been thrown into sharp relief.This isn’t the first time that problems with Canterbury bridges have shut down travel and commerce on State Highway One....

More Infrastructure

Port of Tauranga ‘reluctantly’ doubles MetroPort rail fees
Primary Sector

Port of Tauranga ‘reluctantly’ doubles MetroPort rail fees

The port says it's working with KiwiRail on 'long-term arrangements'. 

Oliver Lewis 04 Jul 2025
‘Bluewater backbone’: Lyttelton, Auckland ports plan $1b+ of upgrades
Policy

‘Bluewater backbone’: Lyttelton, Auckland ports plan $1b+ of upgrades

Two of the biggest NZ ports are raising prices as they plan major investments.

Oliver Lewis 02 Jul 2025
Cost of Ōtaki to north of Levin highway nears $2b
Infrastructure

Cost of Ōtaki to north of Levin highway nears $2b

In 2020, the lower North Island expressway was costed at just $817m.

Oliver Lewis 01 Jul 2025
The keys to unlocking Northport's land value
Infrastructure

The keys to unlocking Northport's land value

MMH's land is valued at five times less than its next-door neighbour, Channel.

Ian Llewellyn 30 Jun 2025