This sight of this impressive new railway viaduct well justifies the walk along the line (45 mins) from the Ohakune Station.

An alternative and more scenic route to the viaduct is along the Old Coach Road.

The new Hapuawhenua viaduct was built not only to improve alignment but because concerns existed about the remaining fatigue life of the old curved viaduct, the view of which is equally impressive. The new structure combines reinforced and prestressed concrete. It is a ‘state of the art’ design, which takes advantage of improved understanding of the behaviour of structures under extreme conditions; especially those of a major earthquake. It is 51 m high and 414 m long.

The replaced structure was used as a jumping point in the early days of Bungy jumping. Nearby you will find the disused Hapuawhenua