Whanganui District Council ponders completely funding Wakefield St Bridge replacement

Council civil engineer Thorbjoerg Saevarsdottir says a new bridge will be prefabricated. Photo / Mike Tweed

Hoped-for government funding for the Wakefield St Bridge replacement is no closer, with the Whanganui District Council now mulling whether to fund the entire project itself.

The Chronicle reported in November that NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) funding may not be available until the agency’s next National Land Transport Plan for 2027-30.

But council roading manager Mark Allingham said at the time it was not uncommon for NZTA to reallocate funding around March and the Wakefield St project was a good candidate due to low cost.

The entire budget is about $2.5 million, with NZTA providing 62% if an application is successful.

Allingham told the council’s operations and performance committee this week that reallocation was not guaranteed.

“And it’s not a guarantee that if it did happen, our bridge would be the one that they [NZTA] chose,” he said.

“But we want to ensure we have as many tickets in every lottery at NZTA as possible, so all opportunities are open to us.”

He said a point-of-entry business case and a present-value end-of-life evaluation had been submitted to NZTA.

Councillor Charlotte Melser said a common community question was “Why don’t we [the council] just fund it?”

Allingham said when it came to major expenditure, the council preferred to have NZTA funding.

“I take it very, very seriously, in regard to our ratepayers’ dollars versus every cent we can get from somebody else to help subsidise our region.”

Councillor Ross Fallen said, in his view, the project was not a lot of money and similar to council funding set aside to refurbish the Whanganui East Pool.

The council has allocated $2m for pool upgrades.

“We’ve done our work. It’s in the hands of NZTA, basically,” Fallen said.

“When could a shovel go into the ground to commence this work?”

Mark Allingham says reallocation of government funding for the bridge is not guaranteed. Photo / Mike Tweed

Council civil engineer Thorbjoerg Saevarsdottir said the project could get underway quickly because, other than “minor tweaks”, the bridge design was ready.

The bridge would be prefabricated and the construction would take months, not years, she said.

Councillor Josh Chandulal-Mackay said it was important elected members stuck “to fact, truth and reality” about the project.

“We need to be really careful going forward, not to say things like ‘We hope to have it started by this time’ and ‘We hope it will be finished by this date’,” he said.

A Facebook post last September by Mayor Andrew Tripe said funding for the bridge replacement was “on its way” and “if all goes to plan, we’re aiming to start building this summer”.

Chandulal-Mackay acknowledged Whanganui East resident and bridge advocate Dale Whittaker, who was at the meeting.

“She has done a fantastic job trying to communicate information to the Whanganui East community, based on what she hears from the council,” he said.

“If we are engaging in speculation about when this project might be completed, we are providing an inaccurate source of information.”

Committee chairman Rob Vinsen said an item needed to come to the council regarding the project being entirely council-funded.

“I think there’s action to be taken, and for this to go to the [council’s] executive leadership team and recommend a way forward.

“All the implications of this have to be considered.”

The bridge has been closed to vehicles since January last year.

Allingham’s report to the committee said opening the bridge to restricted traffic, such as one-way, had been considered, but an inspection confirmed a failure of a brace on a pier, and the option was deemed unsafe.

“The bridge has critically deteriorated and is no longer considered safe for traffic,” it said.

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.