Waiteti Viaduct
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Waiteti viaduct | |
|---|---|
 Waiteti Viaduct in 2015 | |
| Coordinates | 38°21′38″S 175°11′17″E / 38.360509°S 175.188137°E |
| Carries | Single track of the North Island Main Trunk |
| Crosses | Waiteti Stream |
| Owner | KiwiRail |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Plate girder and Pratt truss |
| Material | Wrought iron |
| Total length | 128.6 metres (422 ft) |
| Height | 35 metres (115 ft) |
| No. of spans | 4 |
| History | |
| Engineering design by | Public Works Department |
| Constructed by | J. & A. Anderson & Co |
| Construction start | 1888 |
| Construction end | 10 July 1889 |
| Designated | 15 February 1990 |
| Reference no. | 4175 |
| Location | |
 Interactive map of Waiteti viaduct | |
The Waiteti Viaduct (Bridge 179),[1] 3 km (1.9 mi) south of Te Kuiti[2] and 2.5 km (1.6 mi) north of the station site,[3] was opened in 1889. It is the most northerly of the major viaducts on the NIMT. At its highest, the railway is 35 m (115 ft) above the road to Mangaokewa Scenic Reserve and the Waiteti Stream,[4] a tributary of the Mangaokewa Stream, which flows into the Waipā.[2]
Te Araroa walk track runs through the Mangaokewa valley, near the viaduct.[5] The nearby 200 ha (490 acres) Mangaokewa Scenic Reserve is mainly podocarp/tawa forest with nīkau groves.[6]
The 154 acres (62 ha) for the Waiteti section of the railway was acquired under the Public Works Act in 1888, apparently without payment.[7]
Designed by the Public Works Department, Waiteti Viaduct was built by Christchurch firm, J. & A. Anderson & Co, from 1887 to 1889. As the NIMT was extended south, the same firm later built the Makatote, Mangaturuturu, and Manganui-o-te-ao viaducts.[8]
Waiteti Viaduct was completed in 1888,[9] tested for loading in March[10] and opened in May 1889.[11] It used four lattice girders[4] of 32.4 m (106 ft),[12] totalling 130 metres (425 feet), supported on three lattice piers held in mass concrete abutments and foundations. The wrought iron parts were made in a foundry set up by Anderson in Te Kuiti, then riveted on site. The track and footway were on a rolled iron transom.[4]
It was given Category 1 listing by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust in 1990.[4]
