Whanganui mayor apologises for ‘premature’ bridge funding announcement as wait continues

The replacement project has a budget of about $2.7 million, with NZTA potentially providing 62%. Photo / Mike Tweed

Whanganui’s mayor has apologised for “putting people crook” as Whanganui District Council continues to seek Government funding for a replacement of the Wakefield St Bridge.

In a Facebook post last September, Mayor Andrew Tripe said funding from NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) was “on its way” and “if all goes to plan, we’re aiming to start building this summer”.

The council is still awaiting a decision from NZTA.

At a strategy and policy committee extraordinary meeting on March 19, Tripe said he made a “premature announcement last year”.

“[That was] based on what I thought was very good advice that I’d been given, that we were to receive the funding with just a little bit of paperwork required,” he said.

“As it turned out, that was not the case.

“Apologies for putting people crook on that.”

At the meeting, elected members voted to continue to follow the process to seek co-funding from NZTA.

The council has submitted a business case and a present-value end-of-life evaluation to NZTA, and the agency could reallocate funding towards the project.

The project’s budget is about $2.7 million, with NZTA providing 62% if applications are successful.

Earlier this month, Whanganui MP Carl Bates said a decision on a reallocation of NZTA funding would be announced in early April.

If the reallocation does not happen, NZTA will have to wait for its next National Land Transport Plan for 2027-30, announced by next August.

Council chief financial officer Mike Fermor said using loan funding to pay for the replacement equated to a 0.32% rates rise for 2026-27, with an average of $14.20 per ratepayer.

Councillor Ross Fallen said the walkway on the Aramoho rail bridge also needed replacing and there was no alternative route if that closed.

“We have so many bridges with weight restrictions,” he said.

“Don’t worry about just Wakefield, there is a series of bridges coming up that makes me want to disappear very quickly.”

Tripe and councillors Josh Chandulal-Mackay, Geoff Hipango, Julie Herewini, Mike Hos, Glenda Brown, Philippa Baker-Hogan, Ross Fallen, Rob Vinsen, Peter Oskam and Charlotte Melser voted to continue seeking funding from NZTA, with Deputy Mayor Michael Law against.

Law’s resolution, to include the replacement in the 2026-27 annual plan and fully fund it if NZTA did not confirm its contribution in time, did not have a seconder.

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.