The New Zealand Transport Agency was warned two days before the Waiho Bridge was wrecked that works upstream could make the bridge unstable. Franz Josef businessman Logan Skinner was worried that work upstream of the bridge was pointing the current directly at the bridge's northern abutment. The bridge failed on Tuesday and Mr Skinner said it would still be there if NZTA had heeded his warning. The closure has had a "massive" impact on Franz Josef, Mr Skinner said. NZTA has promised it will fix the Waiho Bridge within 10 days at a cost of about $1 million.

Source: Otago Daily Times March 27, 2019 19:41 UTC