page_title: Rakaia Bridge
section_title: Current bridge
hierarchical_section_title: Rakaia Bridge / Current bridge
caption_attribution_description: English: Robert Semple, about to open the Rakaia Bridge, taken by an unidentified photographer.
context_page_description: The Rakaia Bridge is New Zealand's longest road bridge and crosses the Rakaia River, one of Canterbury's large braided rivers. The present bridge was opened in 1939 and replaced an earlier combined road and rail bridge from 1873. The present road bridge is just downstream from the rail bridge and forms part of State Highway 1.
context_section_description: In June 1931, the Railway Department informed the Main Highways Board that it would increase the charges for the Rakaia Bridge. This resulted in the Main Highways Board to start investigations for a new exclusive road bridge, which finished in March 1933. Some months later, negotiations were started for the Main Highways Board to buy the existing bridge for it to become an exclusive road bridge. Meanwhile, the Railway Department desired a new bridge as trains were getting heavier.
  In the end, the decision was made to build a new road bridge from reinforced concrete next to the existing bridge, and a railway bridge a short distance upstream. One of the reasons for a new bridge was that the old one was considered too narrow. It regularly happened that two large vehicles would meet on the bridge and one had to back off the bridge again as they could not pass one another; not necessarily an easy or quick manoeuvre on a bridge about one mile long. On other occasions, traffic was stuck behind a flock of sheep for as much as an hour. The Main Highways Board proposed to recover some 12% of the construction cost from three adjacent counties: Ashburton, and Ellesmere. In the end, the bridge was paid for from the Main Highway Fund in its entirety and the counties were relieved of their annual contribution towards the upkeep of the bridge.
  After construction having started in March 1937, the current bridge was opened on 25 March 1939 by the Minister of Public Works, Bob Semple. Other speakers were the H. C. Harley of the Canterbury Automobile Association, whose organisation had organised the opening ceremony, and the local member of parliament, Arthur Grigg.
  The new bridge was designed by the Public Works Department under Fritz Langbein. The contractor was Rope Construction Company. It has 144 spans of 40 feet (12 m), with a total length of 5,762 feet (1,756 m).
  The old Rakaia Bridge was last used by the Christchurch - Invercargill Express at 9.56 am on 12 December 1939. A mixed train coming from Ashburton was the first to pass over the new railway bridge at 12.30 pm on the same day; the new bridge was put into service without any ceremony. At 5,720 feet (1,740 m), it is New Zealand's longest rail bridge.
caption: Minister of Public Works, Bob Semple, about to open the bridge
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