First pillars of shared Wellington cycle path bridge to be installed
Wednesday, 19 March 2025
Commuters on the Hutt Valley Line and State Highway 2 will start noticing the first traces of a new shared cycle path bridge that will run next to the highway and above the train tracks.
The bridge is part of a 4.5km shared path between Ngāuranga and Petone that is expected to be finished by May 2026, providing a safe and separated route for pedestrians and cyclists over the rail corridor.
New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) Waka Kotahi regional manager Jetesh Bhula said contractors had laid the bridge’s eight underground bridge piles, and would start installing its distinctive concrete pillars with a cultural design by artist Len Hetet during the year.
“The bridge design was one of the more complex components of the project, crossing over the rail corridor and State Highway with a narrow footprint and coastal reclamation to consider,” he said.
The bridge is part of the $348 million Ngāuranga to Petone section of the Te Ara Tupua transport project, which also features a new coastal edge to protect the road and rail corridor from storms and climate change.
When completed in 2026, it was expected Te Ara Tupua would make it possible to safely cycle or walk from Wellington to Eastbourne.
It hit a major milestone in November, completing a thoroughfare linking Karanga Landing, opposite the BP station, to Petone.
Bhula also said a temporary wharf built to transport heavy machinery and materials for the project was set to be dismantled over the next two months to continue constructing a new seawall and rock embankments.
It was estimated the wharf’s presence shaved nine months off the project timeframe and contributed to “significant” cost savings.
A new artificial reef and two new islands for local marine wildlife had been built as part of the project.
It was estimated people would make more than 2100 trips by bike on the shared path each weekday by 2030, as well as 360 walking or running trips, and 290 trips on e-scooters.
Wide enough for vehicles like ambulances or fire trucks, the pathway would also act as an alternate route between Wellington and Lower Hutt during emergencies such as an earthquake, if the highways and rail tracks were damaged.
The numbers behind the pathway
The shared path is 4.5km long with a 5m sealed surface on the seaward side of the railway line
144,000 tonnes of rocks from Golden Bay and the central North Island will be used
6800 concrete 2.6 tonne “Xblocs” will be used to hold back the sea
2700 cubic metres of concrete will be poured for the seawall.
New Zealand smallest penguin, kororā, are living and breeding along the construction site
Sloping embankments known as revetments, built of either boulders or concrete armour units, will protect the shared path, road and rail line from erosion by waves. The design allows for it to be built on to in the future to adapt to climate change and the rising harbour level