The Waitara River at Tarata was first crossed in 1889 with a wooden truss bridge which, by the 1940s, had deteriorated badly. Temporary repairs using cables for support enabled the old bridge to be used until the new one was completed.
The preliminary work for the new bridge was begun in September 1950 by the Inglewood County and the New Plymouth bridge-building firm of McMillan & Julian Ltd began work on the piers & superstructure in early 1952. (They afterwards went on to build the Waitara River bridge at Pūrangi)
The bridge consists of four spans - the two central ones of 19.8m (65 feet) and the two outer ones at 14.6m (48 feet).
The Tarata bridge was opened by the Minister of Works, William S Goosman on 25 March 1954. The construction was superintended by Inglewood County Engineer, E. H. M. Adams and the approaches were constructed by Merv Jensen of Matau.
One of the concrete abutments of the old truss bridge may be seen on the true left bank a few metres downstream of the present bridge.
McMillan & Julian Ltd: Ivan McMillan died on 22 July 1960, aged 50. John (Jack) Edmund Julian retired in 1976 and died 7 June 1986, aged 72.
Documents
Tarata Bridge history, Tarata School and District Centennial 1889-1989
Progression on Big Bridge, 11 February 1953
Skill and Danger, Taranaki Daily News 24 February 1953
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