Work has begun to reopen a 610m-long rail bridge in southern Canterbury that lost one of its 34 piers during flooding on Friday morning.
The next day, while the river was still at a high level, KiwiRail said it was using drone technology to inspect the damage.
KiwiRail engineers were able to undertake a close inspection of the damaged bridge over the Rangitata River this morning, said chief infrastructure officer André Lovatt.
“Despite the spans sagging, they appear to be structurally sound. We have not found damage to any other piers or spans.”
Civil contractors have begun work to divert the river flow away from the area where the pier was washed away, he said.
“This work is expected to take a few days.”
Construction of temporary supports for the bridge had an aim of beginning mid-next week, said Lovatt.
This would allow freight trains to resume running, with the work expected to take “up to two weeks.”
Lovatt said further inclement weather is expected toward the end of next week that had the potential to disrupt the work programme.
“Permanent replacement of the pier will be carried out once the bridge is operational.”
The Rangitata rail bridge is an “important part” of the rail connection between Invercargill, Dunedin and Christchurch, with around eight freight trains crossing each weekday and five each weekend.
Footage provided to 1News shows part of the bridge visibly sagging after the pier was washed out by a raging Rangitata River on Friday.
All train movements over the bridge are currently suspended due to the damage and rail freight will be managed by road while the bridge is out of action.