Vehicles can now use the newly rebuilt Waiho River bridge near Franz Josef after it reopened on Saturday. West Coast businesses hit hard when the Waiho River bridge was washed away in a storm are hoping for a busy few weeks to end the tourist season now the road has been reopened. The bridge at Franz Josef, a vital link for the tourism-dependant West Coast, reopened on Saturday after a frantic 18-day effort by contractors, the Defence Force and NZ Transport Agency staff to rebuild it. GEORGE HEARD/STUFF Drone footage shows full extent of the damage to the Waiho Bridge, near Franz Josef on the West Coast. Some estimates suggest the fall in visitor numbers could have cost the West Coast economy up to $3 million a day.

Source: Stuff April 13, 2019 00:18 UTC