A project to preserve a bridge crossed by thousands of New Zealand troops as they marched off to the battlefields of World War I is under way.

The Beechwood Lane bridge in Upper Hutt was on the route travelled by about 60,000 soldiers between the training camp in Featherston and Wellington’s docks.

Working to a budget of $500,000, the Upper Hutt City Council’s conservation scheme involves building a temporary span beside the existing bridge which will take about four months. When this is completed the old bridge will be lifted from its foundations and restored off site.

A scaffold platform for pedestrians and cyclists has been constructed over the top of the old bridge – separate from the existing structure – to be used in the meantime as the council has concerns about its condition.

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In 2020, council officers proposed the bridge be demolished because of its deteriorating condition, however local historian Peter O'Flaherty made a plea to councillors to save it, arguing the city had a poor record of looking after sites of historic significance. The majority of councillors agreed.

O'Flaherty was pleased to see the project under way, saying the bridge deserved to be protected for future generations.

“It is important because it is the last remaining bit of the road as it was when the soldiers marched from Featherston Military Camp. The bridge and Beechwood Lane are the last bits that have not been modified.”

Its connection to the country’s wartime past meant thousands of families around the country had links to the structure.

A heritage assessment report presented to the council in 2020 concluded the bridge was not considered a significant archaeological structure or site under the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act.

Foundations for the wooden Howe truss bridge were laid in 1902. It once made up part of the main traffic route from Wairarapa to Wellington.

State Highway 2 has replaced the section of road as an arterial route, however the bridge remains part of the Remutaka Cycle Trail. There were once five Howe truss bridges in Upper Hutt under the custodianship of the city council but the Beechwood Lane bridge is the only one left.