18/01/2026
A few of our aerial shots captured for HEB Construction featured in this Paerata Road bridge rebuild progress report🏗️
A different angle on the Paerata Culvert upgrade beside New World.
This aerial shows the bridge replacement, but that’s only one part of the job. A significant portion of this project has been about stabilising the creek itself. Securing the banks, reshaping the downstream flow, and protecting the surrounding paths and slopes.
The existing stormwater culvert on the southern end of Paerata Road has been replaced with a 12-metre bridge over Whangapouri Creek.
To keep traffic moving, construction was completed in two halves. It takes longer, but it maintains access for all road users throughout the build. This project encountered additional delays after underground services were found to be in a place where they shouldn't have been (contrary to public records), therefore needed moving.
This work forms part of wider stormwater upgrades in the area to reduce flooding and support future growth.
The new bridge will help future-proof the network by lowering upstream flood frequency and reducing the risk of the creek overflowing, while also protecting the creek banks from erosion downstream.
If you drive past the site in the next few days you'll see that they are nearly ready to put the 2nd lane in and return the bridge to normal traffic flow.
The contractor has done a phenomenal job to get this project to where we are today.
Infrastructure isn’t always pretty, but it’s critical... and there’s a lot more going on here than meets the eye.
