Ngāti Oneone and Gisborne District Council begin last stage on waka bridge

Staff from Live Creative affix rauawa designs to the sides of the 1000-Year Bridge in preparation for painting. Work on completing the bridge's "cultural elements" are expected to take three weeks, depending on the weather.

The wait for people to fully enjoy the footbridge over Gisborne’s Kaiti Beach Rd may soon be over.

Gisborne District Council has announced that the “final phase of work” on the waka bridge began on Thursday.

Installation of design features to represent puhoro (spiral designs) and rauawa (boards fixed to the sides of the waka form) will take place through October and “bring the story and legacy of the structure to life”, the council said in a statement.

Chief executive Nedine Thatcher Swann said the council was committed to finishing the bridge in the right way.

“This bridge has always been more than a pedestrian bridge that connects the iconic landmarks of Puhi Kai Iti/Cook Landing site and Titirangi Maunga,” Swann said in a statement.

“With views of Te Kurī a Paoa/Young Nick’s Head, Tūranganui-ā-Kiwa/Poverty Bay, and the landing site where navigators arrived here by canoe, waka and ship over the past 1000 years – it is a legacy of our dual heritage.

“With these final cultural elements, the waka takes its true form.

“We are grateful for the patience of our community as we complete this final stage.”

The bridge is a project delivered in partnership between local hapū Ngāti Oneone and Gisborne District Council.

The project has been funded primarily by external grants totalling $3.1 million, which included the construction of the Te Maro platform at the Ruatanuika lookout.

The statement said the council had “allocated less than $100,000″ for the final installation of design elements to ensure the cultural integrity of the bridge was honoured.

The council told the Gisborne Herald last week it had allocated $100,000.

“The bridge is part of the Navigate Tairāwhiti programme, reflecting and commemorating the region’s heritage of navigation, arrival and traditional stories unique only to our district and our people.”

The open-air pedestrian bridge sits 6.3 metres above Kaiti Beach Rd and is shaped and carved to look like a waka.

Two-way stop-go traffic management will be in place on Kaiti Beach Rd between 9am-2pm on weekdays and 7am-3pm on weekends.

Work is expected to take three weeks, weather dependent.

Once the design elements are installed, council and Ngāti Oneone will confirm a date for the official opening.