A Black Hawk helicopter installed an almost three-ton bridge on the Coppermine Trail on Friday morning.
Part of the trail, that follows the raw water pipeline access bench in the Maitai Valley, was damaged during the severe weather in August last year.
When Nelson City Council repaired the damaged pipeline earlier this year, they allowed space for the recreational bridge to be reinstated.
“The remote location of this part of the Coppermine Trail, with no easy road access meant that reinstating this bridge was a challenge that could only be met with a high load capacity helicopter,” NCC group manager infrastructure, Alec Louverdis, says.
Wellington-based Kahu NZ, flew the Black Hawk UH60 helicopter across the strait to complete the installation of the 2.8 tonne bridge on Friday.
The Black Hawk is capable of carrying loads weighing up to 3.8 tonne and lifting the bridge in place took just four minutes.
“The August 2022 weather event damaged many of our trails that are well used by the public and alongside the work we are doing on roading and infrastructure, repairing these trails has been a focus of Council,” Alec says.
“With 98 per cent of our trails now open to the public, today’s operation puts us one step closer to having a completely open trails network for residents and visitors to enjoy.”
While in the area, the opportunity was taken to also lift in Nelson Tasman Cycle Trails Trust’s new rock crusher machine in the Dun Mountain area of the trail.
Unofficially named ‘Crusher Collins’ after former National Party leader Judith Collins, the new machine will provide much needed aggregate to keep the Coppermine Trail riding smoothly.
Nelson Tasman Cycle Trails Trust trail manager Belinda Crisp previously said the machine will help with much needed maintenance to the remote parts of the ride.
While there had been irregular work done to keep it up and running, the cost of transporting material out to site was becoming too burdensome.
The crusher machine is designed to process rock on site to help keep trails smooth. This is vital for the upper sections of the Coppermine Trail as material is unable to be brought into this area due to the sensitive nature of the unique ultramafic environment.
The Coppermine Trail, which provides a 42km loop from Nelson city, was used by more than 5000 riders last year and is considered one of New Zealand’s Great Rides.
The cost of reinstating this bridge - $165,000 including fabrication and transport, is being met jointly through insurance and a grant from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Cycle Trails funding.
“Thank you to Nelson Tasman Cycle Trails Trust for managing this project and Wenham Contracting who oversaw today’s operation,” Alec adds.
