NZ Transport Agency is closing the Ashburton River Bridge tonight from 11 pm to 1 am tomorrow morning.

The organisation said this is for a second night of deck monitoring and data analysis after the recent floods left one pier slightly lower than the rest. 

“One night of monitoring and analysis last week showed that the pier had stabilised and most traffic was allowed back onto the bridge 24/7, aside from overweight and over-size vehicles.”

During this week’s closure NZTA will also be installing electronic monitoring equipment to allow remote monitoring of the structure.

As well as the Wednesday night two-hour closure, if the weather remains dry the bridge will be closed Thursday night, 17 June, 11 pm to 4 am Friday to smooth out the deck.

Overweight and oversize permit vehicles cannot use the bridge, however, this will be updated after the Thursday night work.

NTZA said it’s aiming to complete the bridge repair in the next two months.