pressed into temporary service for road traffic, before regular trains were using it. Design and construction The viaduct was designed by John Lelliot Cull and William Langston Newnham, both of whom worked in the PWD head office. It is built of mild steel components, which were prefabricated at the Public Works Department Workshops at Mount Maunganui, near Tauranga, shipped to Waikokopu, and railed to the construction site. The steelwork was erected using a cable-way across the gorge to place the material, with the actual erection taking seven months. All told the viaduct incorporates of steel, held together by about 450,000 rivets. On completion the Mohaka viaduct was the fourth highest in the world at , and remains the highest viaduct in Australasia. There are twelve plate girder through spans – four spans of , one of , three of , and four of – supported on six trestle piers. Current status This item of New Zealand's engineering heritage was recognised as part of the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ) "Engineering to 1990" project which the institution organised to help celebrate New Zealand's 150th anniversary in 1990. A plaque was unveiled to mark the significance of this railway viaduct as part of the development of the nation. The viaduct has been registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust as a Category 1 historic place (Register no.4418). Following severe storm damage between Wairoa and Gisborne, and doubts about financial viability of the line, the northern portion of the line from Napier – Gisborne was reviewed as part of KiwiRail's turn-around plan, and was effectively mothballed north of Wairoa in early 2012. Later, on 2 October 2012 KiwiRail announced the mothballing of the entire line from Napier to Gisborne. Trains began running again in 2019. Images References Citations Bibliography External links Photos of construction 1936–37 John Lelliot Cull bio (IPENZ) William Langston Newnham bio (IPENZ) Mohaka Viaduct (IPENZ) Film showing construction work Railway bridges in New Zealand Steel bridges in New Zealand Rail transport in the Hawke's Bay Region Buildings and structures in the Hawke's Bay Region 1930s architecture in New Zealand Bridges in the Hawke's Bay Region Heritage New Zealand Category 1 historic places in the Hawke's Bay Region Viaducts in New Zealand