Photo: Otira Viaduct Arthurs Pass NZ

The 440 metre long Otira Viaduct through Arthur's Pass is one of the most notable environmental engineering achievements in New Zealand.

It is amazing where the construction of roads take place especially the Otira Viaduct in Arthurs Pass on the South Island of NZ. In Arthurs Pass the scenery is beautiful with steep banks of sand created by landslides and greenery leading to the Otira River and above, in the middle of no where, stands the viaduct.The reasons for the Otira Viaduct being built through Arthur's Pass was because Highway 73 meanders through the Southern Alps of NZ and it was the safest way for travelers. The area is subject to rockfall, landslides and winter avalanches, so to build above and out of the way of nature's rumblings was the most logical.The cost to build the Otira Viaduct in Arthurs Pass in NZ was about twenty-five million dollars and workers found the job extremely difficult in the chilly mountain winter climates. One worker did not survive to the completion of the viaduct due to a treacherous accident. ... continue below the picture...

... The viaduct is 35 meters high and 440 meters in length stretching through the Otira valley in NZ. Construction began in January, 1998 and almost two years later construction ended. November, 1999 was the first time a car actually drove over the Otira Viaduct and travel through Arthurs Pass in NZ seems to be a fair bit safer and faster.Otira Viaduct and the Otira River in Arthurs Pass, in the Southern Alps, West Coast, South Island, New Zealand.