Auckland waterfront foot bridge won't be built before America's Cup due to funding

Thursday, 27 June 2019

An artist's impression of Panuku's proposed Wynyard bridge but the project was subsequently put on hold

A high-profile project due to be built for the 2021 America's Cup has been postponed due to a lack of money.

The pedestrian bridge, at the Auckland waterfront, was unveiled just three months ago and was hailed by Mayor Phil Goff as a sign of Auckland Council's commitment to transforming the waterfront.

But Goff now says it may be more appropriate to seek tenders for the new bridge after the America's Cup pressure has passed.

The proposed new bridge off the end of Te Wero will not be built until after the 2021 America's Cup.

'I was advised by the council that a key reason for the delay is that there's uncertainty around completing it in time for America's Cup 2021,' he said on Thursday.

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However, Goff also said that Panuku, the council's development agency, had decided it cannot afford to build the bridge until 2022, the year after the America's Cup is staged.

'Panuku is also now suggesting that the costs of the bridge are likely to be higher than initially projected,' Goff said.

The project sat outside $313 million worth of work being undertaken by Auckland Council in the lower downtown area.

Panuku has not revealed the new estimate for the cost of the pedestrian bridge's replacement.

Goff said he expected Panuku to use the additional time they now have to consider options for reducing the cost of the bridge.

Auckland Council's director of infrastructure told councillors earlier this week it would be better to commence construction after the events of 2021, rather than risking the disruption that construction would create during the America's Cup.

'The decision to push pause on the construction of the bridge is a result of higher than anticipated costs to deliver a bridge of the form and function proposed,' chief executive Roger McDonald said in a memo to the mayor and councillors.

The current pedestrian bridge was built for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

In April, when Panuku and Goff jointly unveiled the design which would replace a utilitarian pedestrian bridge built for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

'Hosting [the America's Cup] will help to accelerate more projects like this,' Goff said in April.

'It will leave a legacy for Auckland that will benefit our city well after the yachts have stopped racing.'

The bridge links Te Wero on the eastern side of the Viaduct Harbour, with Wynyard Quarter next to the events centre which has become the base for Emirates Team New Zealand.

The announcement came on the second anniversary of Team New Zealand clinching the sailing trophy in Bermuda, signalling the start of preparations to defend it in Auckland.