Demolition of City to Sea bridge confirmed

Tuesday, 15 October 2024

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Wellington’s iconic City to Sea bridge will be demolished, despite the council claiming it would consult on “remediation”.

One of its original architects is describing the decision as an act of “utter vandalism”.

A report to the Wellington City Council’s environment and infrastructure committee, which meets on Thursday, notes community feedback will be sought on two options for the “remediation” of the City to Sea Bridge.

However, an accompanying draft consultation document on the development of Te Ngākau Civic Square, confirms the bridge will be ripped down following a seismic assessment of it and the former Capital E building.

It provides two options for the bridge, neither of which are about “remediating” it, but rather replacing it — either with a new “at grade” pedestrian crossing or a new pedestrian crossing plus a new, smaller bridge at two different points across Jervois Quay.

Art historian Lesleigh Salinger has been a staunch supporter of keeping the bridge. along with John Gray, one of the bridge’s architects and others, at one stage threatening to chain herself to it.

She is furious at the decision, saying the council didn’t have a mandate to demolish it.

“Where is the mandate from ratepayers to take such radical action, and for what reasons? It is unbelievable, [obviously] part of a barely disguised agenda maintained all along. Wellingtonians won’t stand for the destruction of a such a loved icon.”

Stuart Niven, an urban design consultant to the council in the late 1990s, was equally scathing.

“The only ‘options’ laid out in the draft plan are those of ‘demolition’ or ‘strengthening’. Nowhere is there a discussion of ‘risk’ or how to manage it as a viable third option – often the least expensive of these options.

“In the case of the bridge, its public occupation, when it’s used as a viewing platform during harbour or square-related events, apparently needs to be limited to under 300 people as an appropriate risk management strategy – a circumstance that would be comparatively straightforward and relatively inexpensive to arrange.”

He said signs could be erected on the bridge explaining that those using it do so “at their own risk”, hence shifting risk responsibility from a public to a private concern.

“After all, the bridge has survived intact during the course of a number of significant earthquakes (the Kaikōura earthquake comes to mind) without any apparent damage so far – which suggests that a ‘managing the risk’ option may prove a far more viable, relatively inexpensive and, consequently, more realistic option in the scheme of things.”

Architect John Gray called it utter vandalism. “We don’t need to wait for an earthquake to demolish it, [the council] are doing the job themselves. It’s a bit like a tragic comedy without a happy ending.”

The council had allocated $65 million to investigate options for the bridge, the former Capital E building and the site’s basement. Those included remedial strengthening work and demolition.

That investigation has now been completed, with engineers giving the bridge an earthquake rating of just 20%, largely because of the possibility that liquefaction in the surrounding area could trigger lateral spreading and movement to the underlying seawall.

And that, says the council, poses a potential risk to the safety of the public, the traffic below the bridge and the ability of emergency services to operate after a disaster.

It says the City to Sea Bridge, former Capital E building and seawall are interconnected structures and would all need to be strengthened for the bridge to be functional.

The cost would be astronomical.

“The most practical strengthening solution would be to install large additional deep foundations tied into the existing foundations along with additional steel frames.

“It would be constructed from the roadway and would close traffic lanes on Jervois Quay in stages for several months. In addition, the former Capital-E building, which supports part of the City to Sea bridge needs significant seismic strengthening. The estimated cost for this is more than $100m, which is not considered feasible. The existing bridge would, therefore, need to be demolished.”

Full estimates for the cost of strengthening the bridge are still being worked on but are expected to be available before Thursday’s meeting.

Councillor Diane Calvert said before making any decision, the council neeed to look at its priorities for the city and in particular around Civic Square. “I think we need to take pause on all our big spending or cuts to ensure they are selected ad done correctly.”

Community engagement will run from October 21 to November 13, with a decision on the “remediation options” for the bridge expected in December.

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