Tauranga City Council says new $350k Pyes Pa pathway on track

A new walkway is being constructed alongside Pyes Pa Road, near Kennedy Rd. Photo / George Novak

A long timber and concrete pathway in Pyes Pa is expected to be completed within a couple of months.

About 2350m of beams, 440m of piles, 650 deck planks, 200m of kerb and 230m of boards are expected to be used in the walkway being built alongside Pyes Pa Rd.

Tauranga City Council infrastructure delivery project manager Helmut Marko said the shared cycle and pedestrian pathway was about 80 per cent complete.

"The remaining pathway and a pedestrian refuge will be completed as part of the Joyce Rd intersection upgrade. This upgrade is expected to be completed in mid-2019."

The completed pathway will be about 600m in length, will cost about $350,000 and "about 80 per cent has been accrued".

"About 180m of the pathway will be a timber boardwalk as a concrete pathway could not be constructed until the road was upgraded and kerb and channel installed," Marko said.

The boardwalk, between Kennedy Rd and Aquinas College, was permanent and would not be removed when the road was upgraded in future.

Marko said the pathway had been put in to cater for cyclists, school children, residents and other road users.

"The pathway will connect Aquinas College to the existing pathway on Kennedy Rd and the new school on Mortlake Heights."

The pathway was approved as part of a Pyes Pa Rd upgrade as part of a long term plan in 2016 and included an upgrade to the Kennedy Rd intersection as part of its first stage.

Funding had mostly come from the New Zealand Transport Agency, with the rest coming from local district councils and an internal loan, Marko said.