The feet and wheels waiting to hit the first stage of the Kamo shared path will have to wait a bit longer.
In the name of safety, the opening, which was originally planned for late last year, is now expected to happen in mid-May.
Whangarei District Council senior roading engineer Nick Marshall said the section was looking really good.
"KiwiRail expects work on its new level crossing near Whangarei Primary School to be done in May."
"We want this path to be a success from the very first day, so making sure the crossing is perfect before we open it up is very important.
"Initially we were keen to get a temporary crossing permit, but nothing would compensate for opening it now and someone getting hurt because the crossing is incomplete."
As a result he said the council was targeting an opening date for stage one in mid-May.
The civil engineering work is 95 per cent complete on the stage. The fencing at the Whangarei Club is to be completed.
Railway signalling will be done by a KiwiRail contractor late in March and planting will be done in autumn and winter.
Stage two runs from Cross St to Kamo Rd. Clearing the route along the eastern side of the railway line has begun. The Cross St to Wrack St section should be completed by June and Wrack St to Kamo Rd will start in July.
Stage three is from Kamo Rd to Jack St, Otangarei. The design for this section has been sent to KiwiRail for feedback. Works will be done last this year and into early 2019.
The design for the fourth stage, from Adams Place to Fisher Terrace, is almost complete. The preliminary design of the underpass has also been sent to KiwiRail. Construction is likely to take place during Labour weekend this year.
The design of the future extension from Fisher Terrace to Kamo Village is being investigated.