Waiteti_Viaduct
Waiteti Viaduct
Bridge
The Waiteti Viaduct (Bridge 179),[1] 3 km (1.9 mi) south of Te Kuiti[2] and 2.5 km (1.6 mi) north of the station site,[3] was opened in 1889. It is the most northerly of the major viaducts on the NIMT. At its highest, the railway is 35 m (115 ft) above the road to Mangaokewa Scenic Reserve and the Waiteti Stream,[4] a tributary of the Mangaokewa Stream, which flows into the Waipā.[2]
Te Araroa walk track runs through the Mangaokewa valley, near the viaduct.[5] The nearby 200 ha (490 acres) Mangaokewa Scenic Reserve is mainly podocarp/tawa forest with nīkau groves.[6]
The 154 acres (62 ha) for the Waiteti section of the railway was acquired under the Public Works Act in 1888, apparently without payment.[7]