He Ara Kotahi Bridge Location Approved

Palmerston North City Council has confirmed the site for the new He Ara Kotahi cycleway and pedestrian bridge will be near the intersection of Dittmer Drive and Ruha Street.

The recommendation from the Project Steering Group was unanimously endorsed by the Council’s Planning and Policy Committee this afternoon.

The Committee also decided to include a central viewing platform in the bridge design. It wants a range of options to be considered to the value of up to $280,000.

The 190 metre long bridge across the Manawatū River will be part of the He Ara Kotahi shared pathway that will link the City with Massey University and the Linton Military Camp.

“We are delighted Council has embraced the Karaka Tree design concept and agreed on the location. This is just the start. There is still plenty to do before a bridge can be built,” says Project Steering Group Chair Ray Swadel.

“We are working to tight timeframes. We must meet those deadlines under the government’s funding criteria. This means we need to have the bridge built in a little over two years. We think this is achievable now that Council has given approval to the site.”

Mr Swadel says the next step will be to present our detailed business case to the New Zealand Transport Agency for approval to obtain government funding for the project.

“We also need to apply for resource consents. We’ll be undertaking technical assessments of both the effect of traffic and the visual impact on nearby residences as part of that process.”

“We acknowledge that some residents have concerns about the potential impact of the bridge on their neighbourhood. We plan to work with residents as we develop the detailed design to address as many of those concerns as possible. Of course, people can also make submissions during the consenting phase of the project.”

“We are convinced Ruha Street is the best site for the bridge. This is based on feedback from the community and the estimated number of commuter and recreational users of the shared pathway. This view has been reinforced by Massey University’s decision to enable a direct link connecting the shared pathway to its campus and the Crown Research Institutes”

He Ara Kotahi is a partnership between Horizons Regional Council, Massey University, the Palmerston North City Council, and the New Zealand Army at Linton, the New Zealand Transport Agency and Rangitāne.

The $10m project is part of the government’s $333m Urban Cycleways Programme. It has received $3m from this programme and $3.2m from the National Land Transport Fund.

ENDS

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