Kopu Bridge

The Kopu Bridge is a single-lane swing bridge over the Waihou River in New Zealand , near its confluence with the Firth of Thames . It is located in the Thames-Coromandel District on the North Island of New Zealand. The bridge was completed in 1928 and is part of New Zealand State Highway 25 . The rotating part in the middle of the bridge is 43 m long, the entire bridge spans 463 m. This makes the bridge the oldest single-lane bridge in the State Highways system. It was the first bridge over the Waihou River and is the main link between the Hauraki Plains and the Coromandel Peninsula . Traffic is regulated by traffic lights. The bridge is notorious for its peak traffic jams.

In 2006, Transit New Zealand announced that it would build a second bridge for the State Highway a little upstream to relieve the pressure. The old bridge should be preserved because of its historical importance. This bridge is under construction.

Web links

• Kopu Bridge . Heritage New Zealand,accessed August 25, 2014. 
• Transit New Zealand press release
• Project to build the replacement bridge

Coordinates: 37 ° 11 ′ 26.5 ″  S , 175 ° 33 ′ 42.8 ″  O