The contract for the construction of a new Pyramid Bridge has been awarded to New Zealand company Concrete Structures (NZ) Ltd. 

Gore District Council Transport Manager Peter Standring said the company, which is based in Rotorua, was one of four to tender for the project. 

It is planned to have work start on the site before mid-December. However, this will depend on how long it takes to finalise the design of the widened single lane bridge and to get the required consents.  

The old Pyramid Bridge, near Riversdale, collapsed in February 2018 when a build-up of debris caused by flood waters washed away a 50m section of the bridge. 

The total construction cost of the project is $3.79million. With the New Zealand Transport Agency providing a 73% subsidy, the cost to the Gore and Southland district councils will be evenly shared and amount to approximately $530,000 each. 

The tender price was considerably lower than the budgeted estimate of $6.8million. 

Mr Standring said the company provided the tender evaluation team with an alternative design that displayed benefits around cost and construction time. 

He said construction of the bridge will take about 14 months.