The cost of a new shared path linking Wellington and the Hutt Valley has risen by $130 million to more than $300m – its third budget increase – thanks to the rising cost of materials.
“It would have been a hell of a lot cheaper if they’d done it a long time ago,” said Dr David Tripp from Doctors for Safe Active Transport.
The idea for a cycle path between Wellington and Lower Hutt dated back to 1901, when the MP for Lower Hutt said in a parliamentary debate that the roads in Wellington were a “disgrace” and they needed to pass legislation “to enable us to improve our roads so that our cyclists may use them”.
The Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency board has approved a total of $311.9m in funding for Te Ara Tupua, a 4.5km section of 5-metre-wide pathway for walking and biking from Ngāūranga to Petone, along the coast next to the Hutt Valley railway line and the highway.
An artist’s impression of the Ngāūranga to Petone section of the Te Ara Tupua shared pathway from the air.
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This section of the path was approved by Waka Kotahi in 2019 and was originally predicted to cost up to $94 million, although this had risen to $190 million by April last year.
Supply chain issues were increasing budgets on all their projects, said Robyn Elston, Waka Kotahi’s national manager for system design. “The price of diesel, a key input in construction projects, has almost doubled in the last year.”
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An artist’s impression of Karanga Point on the Te Ara Tupua shared pathway.
Despite the rising costs, Tripp said the path was worth it and it would be “short-sighted” to stop now. He treats patients with chronic illnesses and said the health benefits of cycling could reduce the risk of these conditions, as well as having climate benefits.
Graeme Hall, chairperson of the Great Harbour Way/Te Aranui o Pōneke trust, said the new pathway would be a social, community asset.
”There will be prams, kids, dogs, bikes, all in the same social space, which we’ve never had before between Lower Hutt and Wellington,” he said.
The project was also important for Wellington’s resilience – it will extend the seawall and protect the train lines from debris and seawater.
”People are probably thinking “that’s expensive for a strip of asphalt” but it’s more than that, it’s a huge amount of work to push out the seawall and create space so rail doesn’t get challenged on days like (Thursday),” Hall said.
Another key road construction material, bitumen, was at a 10 year-high, and the local price of steel had risen by more than 30% in the past year.
Supplied
An artist’s impression of the shared path, part of Ta Ara Tupua, crossing the park at Normandale, Lower Hutt. (File photo)
The Wellington-Hutt pathway would be part of the Great Harbour Way/Te Aranui o Pōneke, which will eventually allow people to walk or bike around the whole harbour.
The section between Melling and Petone is nearly complete. This new section will be joined by a shared path between Thorndon and Ngāūranga being built as part of Let’s Get Wellington Moving, and another shared path the Hutt City Council is building from Petone to Eastbourne.
Kim Skelton, the Taranaki Whānui representative on the project, said the funding decision was significant.
“Now that this decision has been made, we are eager to move to the next stage, which will create business and employment opportunities for our people and increase the visibility of our historic pā sites and cultural connections to the harbour,” Skelton said.
The Wellington City Council contributed $5 million towards this section of pathway. Wellington mayor Andy Foster said he was certain it would “significantly increase the number of people commuting or recreating by pedal power between the two cities, as well as keen runners”.
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