Transport Minister Simon Bridges and the mayors of Tauranga and the Western Bay District will be officiating at the sod turning ceremony, marking the build start of the Omokoroa/Tauranga cycleway tomorrow.
A private ceremony will be held tomorrow to mark start of the trail.
City cyclists demonstrations pay off.
The Omokoroa/Tauranga trail, which includes a $1.5 million or so bridge across the Wairoa River, is the linking centerpiece of a cycle trail that will link the Western Bay of Plenty from Waihi to Maketu.
The trail is a New Zealand Government Urban Cycleways Programme project, jointly funded by the New Zealand Transport Agency, Western Bay of Plenty District Council and Tauranga City Council; with additional contributions and assistance from Tauranga Energy Consumer Trust, Tauranga Round Table, PowerCo and KiwiRail.
The bridge will be located upstream of the existing state highway bridge and will link into Taniwha Place.
The concept is for a single span bridge about 106m long and three metres wide.
A design competition is proposed in order to ensure an ‘iconic' structure is achieved. Construction is expected to take place from 2017 and be completed the following year.
5 comments
Getting us of our backsides
Posted on 04-08-2016 11:23 | By BullShtAlert
This has a lot of merit and will appeal to locals and tourists alike, at least those who are looking for a healthier lifestyle
Awesome
Posted on 04-08-2016 12:54 | By overit
Thank you so much for this National, what a facility. Cyclists don't have much chance on the roads, look what they do to each other in cars.
At long last
Posted on 04-08-2016 13:13 | By Bermacar
Great new that this is finally under way. With the number of cyclists in Tauranga it will be very welcome and well used. And the bonus will be the attraction of visitors to this are to cycle it - like Nelson and Hawkes Bay.
I hope they finish this one.
Posted on 04-08-2016 15:31 | By Floyd
Cycleways are a great thing. Even better when they are finished. Unfortunately the cycle way from Paengaroa to the start of the TEL cycleway still has the portion over the rails at Maketu Road incomplete. The cycleway alongside the TEL is great but it is not complete and effectively finishes at Bell Road. If the Mayors of Tauranga City Council and Western Bay District Council actually got on their bikes and rode the cycleways instead of just going for the photo opportunities maybe the cycleways would be completed.
30 years ago
Posted on 04-08-2016 20:59 | By jh
30 years ago I wrote a letter to the WBOPDC suggesting a cycleway from from Omokoroa to Tauranga, mainly following the railway with bridge clip-ons but never got a reaction from them. I'm glad it is now happening and no doubt it will be a great success. I also suggested that it could open up a venture to ferry cyclist across the water from Plummers Point to Waitui Reserve (Snodgrass Rd) to make it even more interesting. I'm sure it will open up other ventures along the way.
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