Part of the funding will go towards the Ohakune Old Coach Road section of the trail.
Government funding is on the way for the Mountains to Sea – Ngā Ara Tūhono Cycle Trail, but unfinished Whanganui sections will have to wait.
Trail manager Lynley Twyman said up to $2,197,000 would go towards upgrading the Ohakune Old Coach Road section and replacing 13 bridges along the Mangapurua and Kaiwhakauka tracks.
“We started with old tramping tracks and various other things, and we didn’t have billions of dollars thrown at it.
“Now, we are bringing them up to a quality of experience that works. It’s safe, resilient and fun.”
The trail runs about 200km from Tongariro National Park to the Tasman Sea at Whanganui.
It is operated and maintained by the Ngā Ara Tūhono Charitable Trust, chaired by Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe.
Twyman said the trust brought together the Whanganui and Ruapehu district councils and four iwi members.
“That’s to make sure everybody is in the tent, and we get to where we need to.
“These are community-owned assets, and we really want to grow and maintain them with and for our communities.”
Two sections of the trail in the Whanganui suburb of Castlecliff and another in Aramoho are still to be completed.
In 2024, Whanganui District Council transportation manager Mark Allingham said a change in Government priorities meant no funding had been allocated for the $2.18m requested to finish the work.
Funding for walking and cycling in NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi’s 2024-27 National Land Transport Plan was $460m, about half the amount available in the 2021-24 plan.
Allingham told the Chronicle this week that a funding application for about $800,000 had been made through the trail trust to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
“Our preferred route [in Castlecliff] goes above port land and has some lovely views of the river both ways.
“The other option is going along Heads Rd and widening the footpath there.”
Another section of the cycleway is planned from Aramoho Cemetery to Aramoho Rail Bridge.
Allingham said that could start “if there is any funding left over” after the Castlecliff projects.
His report to the council’s operations and performance committee in March said the 25% local share was proposed to come from unallocated council funds.
Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston said the country’s Great Rides cycle trails were “one of our most successful regional tourism assets”.
They created jobs, supported local businesses and attracted new hospitality and accommodation services to set up.
“They are vital to our local economies with people enjoying more than 2.5 million trips on the 23 Ngā Haerenga Great Rides of New Zealand each year and spending an estimated $1.28 billion in the regions.”
The NZ Cycle Trail Fund and Department of Conservation are co-funding the latest Mountains to Sea projects, as well as five other Great Rides.
The total funding package is up to $7.1m.
Twyman said the Castlecliff sections were important and needed to be finished because they would move the trail off public roads.
The trust was working closely with the team at Te Pūwaha (Whanganui Port revitalisation project).
“The awa, the mountains and the sea are all connected, and our shared path happens to connect that story beautifully.
“With limited funds, we are always trying to figure out where to pitch first, and this is where we’ve got to.”
She said there would be surface improvements and corner realignments on Ohakune Old Coach Road. “It will be a far more fun ride for a wider range of people.”
Replacing the bridges on the Mangapurua and Kaiwhakauka tracks would make it easier to maintain the trails.
“Also, they were not a really great experience for a lot of our riders, bike packers on the Tour Aotearoa, for example, and e-bikes.
“But we need to make this clear: it will not open up the valley for motorbikes and quad bikes.”
She said it was hoped work would start over winter and continue next summer.
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present, his focus is local government, primarily Whanganui District Council.