Up until 1 August 2023 the historic Beaumont Bridge, you see upstream remained in use as part of State Highway 8, for more information on this Bridge see GCABX9G.
From 1 August 2023 this new bridge was opened allowing for the first time two way traffic flows across this part of the River Clutha. This new bridge is well over due. Plans for a new crossing date back decades but between funding issues and plans floated for a new dam at Beaumont, the project kept getting delayed.
Around 2015 I was involved in writing the Buisness Case for this new bridge and as part of this my team and I had to look at different location options for the New Bridge. For the full report you can find it here; https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/projects/sh8-beaumont-bridge/SH8-Beaumont-Bridge-business-case-no-appendicies.pdf
We had about 30 options and through review of the hydraulics of the river, geology, properties and safety of road users we narrowed it down to two two preffered ribbon areas (see attached picture) for the bridge to go. From each of these areas the best bridge alignment was picked - Option A and Option B and these were presented to the local community December 2016 (https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/south-otago/public-discussions-bridge-options) and they had the final say, selecting Option A (my personal fav).
Now I could spend a while rattling on about the details but this is a multi and a low signal area so I will direct you for further reading here; https://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/new-beaumont-bridge and provide a few fun facts below.
Some other instresting facts;
- The Dam structures upstream now control the water levels of the Clutha River, typically water is released around 11am upstream of the bridge, so to see the rock outcrops (below the piers) you need to be here before noon.
- These piers are a big part of why this was a preffered location, they are great foundations for the bridge. If you look upstream to the historic bridge you can see the old timers knew this too! Downstream of West Ferry/East Ferry, there is a fault line and downstream of this this hard rock disappears and it turns to gravels.
- You'll also notice the piers for the old and new bridge line up with each - this is to minimise the turblance and scouring of the piers and downstream areas of the river.
- Option B alignment for the new bridge was floated because it would remove the bend in road and considered a safer option for road users, however there were concerns this would further segregate the community and hence the reason locals voted for Option A.
For this simple Multi, you need to go to both the listed co-ordinates and the waypoint (w1), you can safely walk/cycle across either the historic or new bridge (or do a loop using both).
The cache is at S 45° AF.CBE' E 169° BC.EDF'
At the Posted co-ordinates look at the side of the new bridge;
A = number of piers (white columns are there in total).
B = Number of A's in the name written on the side of the bridge.
C = Number of U's in the name written on the side of the bridge.
At Waypoint W1. Look at the artwork under the bridge;
D = What is the number of letters of the fish starting with I?
Find the fish with the name starting K and end in A. The number of letters in this word is Y.
E = Y-1.
F = Y+1.
Checksum A+B+C+D+E+F= 29.
Please ensure the cache is placed back securely - you need to take a few minutes to ensure it is wedged in place.
Wish to attend New Zealand’s next large multi-day event? GCA7ZHD Geo Toroa will be held on NZ’s Labour Day long weekend 26-27th October 2024 in Dunedin. Details in the link below;
