Business Central July 2021

| 73 CONTRACTING Edifice Structures T Sue Russell Edifice Structures was commissioned to design and construct this unique cable stay footbridge at the Water of Leith in Dunedin. L evin-based specialist pedestrian bridge building company Edifice Structures came into being in 2010, however, the very beginnings of the company was estab- lished in 1992 by Director Andrew Hamilton. Contracts Manager, Walter Raikes has been working with Andrew for 14 years now, and along with a small team of construction hands, the company is enjoying a busy post-Covid lockdown period. “The workload has increased year on year. We used to concentrate mainly on back-coun- try pedestrian work, but as time has gone by, we’ve gone to all sorts of places to build foot bridges of all sorts of designs,” says Walter. When Business Central spoke with him the team were focusing their efforts on work at Totara Flats, in the Tararua Ranges, replacing an old swing-bridge. Foundation work was just about completed by mid-April. “These sites present challenges as you have to helicopter in all your gear and there’s no room for large earth-moving equipment so the bulk of the work is done by hand.” Walter says a number of old forestry servic- es swing bridges are coming up for replace- ment and expects this type of project will be ongoing. “We tend to concentrate on one project at a time as we’re a small team and once a build gets underway, it’s important to see it through in the most efficient time. This often means the guys stay out on remote sites through the week.” In his role Walter talks to customers right from the first conversation about a proposed Building bridges all the way project. This begins with a site visit to assess the best options in terms of placement and design. Engineers are then engaged to do the necessary design work and Walter then puts the proposal costings together before submit- ting it to the client. “I also see the project right through to completion and its really satisfying to do this, to work on it from discussion through drawing to final build processes.” In 2018, Edifice Structures was commis- sioned to design and construct a unique cable stay footbridge at the Water of Leith, a river that flows north of Dunedin for some 14km. The bridge features a 22m tall Y-shaped mast, giving it a unique artistic quality. Commissioned by the Dunedin City Council, the $1.4million project presented critical challenges for Edifice, as lead contractor, to overcome through the design and site works consenting processes. Walter says the result is a beautiful, functional walking/cycling bridge that has outstanding visual appeal. Asked whether, with the current demand for their work, Edifice Structures is looking to increase its team size Walter says they are currently looking for a couple more construc- tion hands. “We’re not overly concerned if they don’t have all the skills we need, as we can teach these, but what is critical is that people want to work in isolated situations for lengths of time and this doesn’t work for everyone.” The whole approach to bridge design is driven by the company’s mission: To come up with solutions, not problems, for its clients. Quality pedestrian bridges, built tough in New Zealand www.edifice.co.nz | 06 366 0318 | enquiries@edifice.co.nz office@ahnzl.com AMALGAMATED HELICOPTERS (NZ) Ltd offers a wide range of helicopter services to the agriculture sector, forestry, government departments, local councils, Police, Fire & Emergency also the general public.