The Totara Valley Limestone Bridge, located on Sterndale Valley Road in Totara Valley and built in 1874-75, is one of several stone arch bridges in South Canterbury that stand as lasting examples of early engineering and exhibit a high level of craftsmanship. Constructed by the Levels Road Board and still in use, the stone bridge possesses historical, archaeological, aesthetic, and architectural value. Between the 1865s and the 1880s, several stone bridges and culverts were built in South Canterbury. Most were small, single-span structures constructed from local limestone or bluestone (basalt). Early newspaper accounts of Levels Road Board meetings included references to a 'Manuka Bridge' at Totara Flat. In 1874, Mr. W. Williamson, the board engineer, suggested that it might be better to forgo further brushwood bridges and recommended the use of stone as a material for bridge construction where it was readily available.