Archeologists dig up part of old wooden bridge on SH1, Picton

Archaeologists have dug up parts of an old bridge in Picton, a project the community once fought to have constructed.

WSP archaeologist Kirsty Sykes saays she discovered the site, at the Waitohi Stream on State Highway 1, when she was playing with her daughter Maddy, whose kindergarten neighbours the area.

It was then that she noticed part of the old bridge foundation in the ground.

Kirsty understands the bridge was likely constructed in 1866.

“In 1866, there was a whole lot of people complaining about the disgrace that Picton doesn't have a nice big bridge,” she says.

“I've got a newspaper article from 1913, where the speed limit over the bridge was a walking pace. The bridge by that point was getting quite old, and people were getting fines for going too fast over the bridge."

She says some time in the early 20th century, a new bridge was built. But in doing so, they left some of the old piles in the ground, which was the material archaeologists dug up on Monday.

“It was in the ground, it’s pretty water logged in the top. When they put the new bridge in they just decided it was easier to chop it off.”

Kirsty says as an archaeologist, a find like this is exciting because it is part of the community's history.

“It brings the past and the present, and the future together. So finding something like this is the real tangible link to the past, that you can touch it right, and you can relate to it.”

She says a piece of the wood will be sent off to sample what exactly it was. The rest will go to the Picton Museum for display.

Kirsty has also worked on Blenheim's Ōpaoa Bridge, when in early 2019, workers accidentally stumbled across a wooden bridge pile and century-old bottles at the worksite – while building a new bridge.

“We found a bridge pile there that was nearly 7 metres, but it had lost the very end, so this is a very nice example of that end,” she says.

Workers found the old wooden pile while driving piles into the ground. The pile hit the wood and sliced part of it off.

It was thought that bridge was built in 1868.

A spokesperson from Waka Kotahi says the current Waitohi Stream bridge is undergoing scour protection works to protect the existing bridge abutments from potential river water and flood damage.

“The team will install concrete blocks and rock rip rap in front of the existing abutments and fill a void under the existing rock baskets to maintain the stability of the bridge supports,” the spokesperson says.

This is expected to be completed by the end of April.

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ on Air.