Wakefield St Bridge in Whanganui East closed in January 2025 after being deemed unsafe for vehicles of any weight. Photo / Fin Ocheduszko Brown
Wakefield St Bridge in Whanganui East closed in January 2025 after being deemed unsafe for vehicles of any weight. Photo / Fin Ocheduszko Brown
The future of the Wakefield St Bridge in Whanganui East is still in the balance after a community meeting.
A meeting was held on July 6 at the Wanganui East Club to discuss the timeframes and next steps of reopening the bridge.
Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe, Whanganui MP Carl Bates,Whanganui District Council transportation manager Mark Allingham, police, and more than 100 residents of the Whanganui East community attended.
The council later reapplied for the funds but was “unexpectedly turned down” by NZTA.
The meeting was told that funding from NZTA, which would cover 62% of the cost, would not be provided until the National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) for 2027-2030.
The project is estimated to cost $2.4 million.
Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe said the estimated two-year wait to receive funds from NZTA was not good enough.
The council was investigating all possible options to fast-track the bridge replacement, including through the Regional Transport Advisory Group to see whether it could get changes made to the NLTP.
Allingham said the council would continue to put pressure on NZTA in case other projects around the country were not delivered, which would free up funding.
Tripe said gaining the funds was a focus for the council.
“Without the funding, the bridge is likely to stay closed for two years and that’s not good enough.
“When the funding does come through, we are ready to build fast and get cranking.”
Whitaker said the bridge closure had a significant impact, with vehicles that had travelled along the 100km/h No 3 Line into the 50km/h Eastown Rd failing to adjust their speed.
“Drivers come in still doing 100km/h until they get to the intersection where you used to turn off to the bridge.”
Whitaker said the closure had increased travelling time for residents who previously used the Wakefield St Bridge to travel down Itikara Rd to get to the Whanganui City Bridge.
The detour meant more were using the Dublin St Bridge roundabout.
“Dublin St Bridge at peak times is pure hell to get over,” Whitaker said.
There had been financial impacts on the Wanganui East Club and nearby businesses as some people thought all of Wakefield St was closed.
Allingham said the council knew about the community’s concerns and plans were in place to discourage speeding and traffic congestion.
Allingham said changing driver behaviour was “incredibly difficult”.
“We get a lot of requests for speed bumps and, probably just as much, to not have speed bumps.”
He said whenever a speed bump was placed in front of houses, those residents were affected.
The residents affected by the bridge closure were encouraged to organise letters and petitions for Bates to take to NZTA.
Meanwhile, the council will conduct a traffic audit to assess the safety issues raised.
Dublin Street Bridge
Whanganui MP Carl Bates (left), Transport Minister Chris Bishop and Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe met on July 4 to discuss the future of the Dublin St Bridge.
Tripe said Bishop agreed that the two-year timeframe provided by NZTA was too long.
“Everyone agrees that we need a replacement bridge as it is coming to the end of its life. We do have a bit of time up our sleeves but we need to develop a business case,” Tripe said.
“NZTA business case requirements take two years which I’ve said is far too long.”
Tripe said Bishop supported the idea of creating a new bridge further upstream and maintaining the existing bridge to save on demolition costs.
Tripe wanted the bridge to be kept as a walkway or for hospitality to retain the heritage: “It is part of our identity.”
He was writing to Bishop to follow up on what was discussed to progress NZTA funding.
