Building of 1000-year bridge to finally get under way

A digital render of the $3.83 million 1000-year bridge project which will be built above Kaiti Beach Road to connect Titirangi/Kaiti Hill and Puhi Kai Iti/Cook Landing Site. The pedestrian bridge will be shaped and carved to look like a waka and will feature a viewing platform. Image supplied

Work starts on Monday on the long-awaited 1000-year bridge to connect Tītīrangi/Kaiti Hill and Puhi Kai Iti/Cook Landing site.

The $3.83 million project comprises an open-air pedestrian bridge, which will be 6.3 metres above Kaiti Beach Road.

It will be shaped and carved to look like a waka and will feature a viewing platform of Te Maro (the circular sculpture on the side of Tītīrangi) .

The bridge will also offer views of Tūranganui-a-Kiwa from where navigators arrived here by canoe, waka and ship over the past 1000 years.

Mayor Rehette Stoltz said she was stoked to finally get the “impressive” project under way.

“As you walk along this footbridge the story of how our region evolved will be told to take you back across the last 1000 years.

“It’s also important to bring the cone of vision back to this historical site so Te Kuri a Paoa/Young Nicks Head can be seen.”

Mayor Stoltz said the memorial Puhi Kai Iti used to have a view of Tūranganui-a-Kiwa and Te Kuri a Paoa but this had been blocked by buildings over the past 100 years

“This bridge brings it back and tells our story.”

The project is a collaboration between Ngati Oneone and Gisborne District Council.

It has been in the pipeline for around six years as part of the Tairāwhiti Navigations Project and was initially planned for the Tuia 250 commemorations.

The bridge will link tracks on the maunga to walkways around the inner harbour, which lead to either walkways and cycleways to Kaiti and Wainui or to Kiwa Pools and the town beaches.

It is externally funded through a Lotteries Grant of $3.1 million ($2.68 million for the bridge and $389,000 for the Te Maro platform), and a Trust Tairāwhiti grant of $343,000.

The project was delayed by interruptions that included Covid-19 and the cyclones that battered the region.

Currie Construction starts work on Monday and the existing funding has to be used by next year.

Mayor Stoltz thanked Ngati Oneone for driving the kaupapa to restore the area.

Ngati Oneone chair Charlotte Gibson said iwi had been instrumental in the transformation of Puhi Kai Iti, Te Maro, Hirini Street urupa, Kopuawhakapata awa, Tupapa (with Ngai Tamanuhiri, Rongowhakaata and Te Aitanga a Mahaki) and the restoration of Tītīrangi, supported strongly by the council.

“Ngati Oneone, as mana whenua, have stories that need to be told in their domain.”

Ms Gibson said the project to restore the top of Tītīrangi — called Te Panuku Tū — was first mooted by Ngati Oneone and started with the removal of the Captain Cook statue and the observatory.

“Panuku Tū has two purposes. To recognise that once Māori lived atop of Tītīrangi and that it’s a space where those purakau (traditional form of Māori narrative) can be told from an amazing vantage point.”

In 2021, the site was officially blessed by Ms Gibson supported by district council senior Māori engagement officer Walton Walker.

The 1000-year bridge is one of five projects to revitalise the inner harbour and Tītīrangi area.

Completed projects include the Puhi Kai Iti/Cook Landing Site, inner harbour development, Tītīrangi maunga restoration and Tupapa: Our Stand. Our Story.

Once the 1000-year bridge is completed, the only project outstanding will be Te Panuku Tū Whare/Tītīrangi Summit.

Mayor Stoltz said external funding was still being sought for the Te Panuku Tū Whare project, which has been priced in the vicinity of $6 million.