By Simon Shepherd / RadioLIVE
The Kopu Bridge on State Highway 25 south of Thames has reopened.
The historic bridge was closed earlier today as a precautionary measure, after contractors noticed a fault with the swing span section of the structure.
The New Zealand Transport Agency says a new plate has been welded into place and is reassuring motorists that the bridge is structurally sound.
Used by 9,000 vehicles a day - and many more in the holidays - it's at Tapu, near Thames, and links the Coromandel Peninsula with Auckland and the Waikato.
From the air it seemed age had finally caught up with the 83-year-old bridge - a 43m central swinging span looked as though it had dropped.
Traffic couldn't cross earlier today, the local mayor one of the drivers caught out.
"We're parked here probably about seven back from where the car stopped, and being inquisitive and pouring I thought, you know, what's going down?" says Glenn Leach.
"So I just walked up here and realised that we did have a problem, and just cleared the traffic and helped a few old girls turn around."
On closer inspection it wasn't as serious as first thought. Instead of the span dropping, the metal trim that connects the span to the rest of the bridge had broken off.
"No safety issues at all as far as I'm aware," says bridge controller Keith Tonks. "Nothing has moved on the bridge itself. It's just a trim to allow traffic to pass over without falling in this small hole, it's only like, 350mm apart, that's all."
The bridge has New Zealand's only surviving swing span, which opens to let boats through. But it's also a major bottleneck in summer when over a thousand vehicles cross it every hour.
Work on the replacement bridge is well advanced but authorities say it can't be sped up.
Despite today's incident, they believe the old bridge is still safe, and engineers have a temporary fix - bolt a steel plate on to the roadway.
These repairs will only have to last until next July when the new $48 million bridge will open, bringing relief to the thousands of drivers who use it each day.
3 News / RadioLIVE