Whanganui MP Carl Bates (left) with (from left) councillor Josh Chandulal-Mackay, Mayor Andrew Tripe, Wanganui East Club president Rob Steele, Deputy Mayor Michael Law, club treasurer Peter Bouzaid, councillor Mike Hos and bridge advocate Dale Whitaker.
Whanganui MP Carl Bates (left) with (from left) councillor Josh Chandulal-Mackay, Mayor Andrew Tripe, Wanganui East Club president Rob Steele, Deputy Mayor Michael Law, club treasurer Peter Bouzaid, councillor Mike Hos and bridge advocate Dale Whitaker.
Whanganui’s Wakefield Street Bridge will be replaced and the Government is stumping up 62% of the $2.7 million cost.
The Government funding was announced on Sunday with Transport Minister Chris Bishop saying it was an important link across the New Plymouth–Marton rail line for the Whanganui East community.
“Areplacement Wakefield Street bridge in Whanganui will be built to modern standards, restoring a key local connection and allowing heavier vehicles to cross,” he said.
“Before its closure, around 1400 vehicles used the bridge daily, including a significant number of heavy vehicles.”
Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe said Whanganui District Council could now “turn its attention to getting it built and restoring this connection”.
The council submitted a business case and a present-value end-of-life evaluation to NZTA last year.
If reallocated funding was not secured, it would have waited until NZTA’s next National Land Transport Plan, to be announced before August 31 next year.
It urged “immediate action” on the replacement because traffic and accessibility were affected, emergency and school routes were compromised, and local businesses faced reduced customer access.
“I know how frustrating the closure has been for local residents and businesses, including the Wanganui East Club, so it’s good to see things moving forward toward a safe, modern replacement,” he said.
“Along with the community, I’ve advocated strongly for this with both NZTA and the Minister of Transport.
“It is fantastic to see that hard work result in a positive outcome today.”
He said securing the funding was a good example of how the community, local government and central government could work together to get a positive result.
Construction was expected to start at the end of this year and finish by the end of June next year, the council said.
At a council operations and performance committee meeting in February, 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, she said.
Whitaker said she had plans for the bridge after it was demolished but would need contractor permission.
She painted it earlier this year and added red ribbons.
“It would be great to sell the timber off and donate the money to a charity.
“Someone said to me, ‘There are lots of gates in that bridge, Dale’, and I agree.”
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.
