Video: Bloxy is Curious about the bridge, the helicopter and how much it costs.
On Thursday, The Greater Wellington Regional Council installed a brand-new bridge across the Korokoro Stream in our Belmont Regional Park.
Located in the hill between Porirua and the Hutt Valley, The Belmont regional park features the historic Korokoro Dam, Pareraho Pā, World War II ammunition stores and the original main coach road from Wellington. Climb to the trig at 456 metres above sea level to enjoy sweeping views over Porirua Harbour, the Lower Hutt and the remnants of ancient boulder block fields
The new bridge was built by Greater Wellington staff at their Upper Hutt depot, and installed with help from Kahu NZ who flew down in their Black Hawk helicopter; the SIKORSKY UH60 BLACK HAWK can lift up to 3.6 tonne.
The bridge was lifted from Oakleigh Street carpark and carried over to the site, where months were spent preparing and installing the abutments to support the bridge made with 15 tonnes of hand-poured concrete. Our teams worked rain and shine, on days when sun couldn’t make it down the valley, to ensure the installation would be seamless.
People travel across the region to explore the Belmont Regional Park and walk up to the famous Korokoro dam, and the bridge will help make the track even more accessible for those who want to explore the ngahere (native forest).
Total cost for the construction of the bridge and helicopter transportation was $59,321
Belmont Regional Park
Located in the hill country between Porirua and Lower Hutt
The breathtaking views and bush-clad valleys of Belmont Regional Park make it a favourite open space for picnics, walking, running, mountain biking and horse riding.
Opening hours
The parks are always open to the public.
The Dry Creek automatic security gate is open 5am-9pm from 1 Oct to 31 Mar, and 6am-6pm from 1 April to 30 Sept.
Other parts of the park may be closed for farm management purposes, particularly during lambing.
CONTRIBUTE
Have stories, yarns, mad scoops, or community news to share. We often pay for awesome content and life shattering stories. What have you witnessed?