A bridge by March? Business group questions SH25A timeline

Wednesday, 5 July 2023

There’s a $40m plan to build a bridge over this swept-away section of SH25A on the Coromandel Peninsula.

A bridge to reconnect Coromandel’s SH25A will be finished by March, Waka Kotahi says - but a business group is “not convinced”.

Last month Waka Kotahi announced works for a $40 million bridge on the arterial route were underway, pinpointing the end of March 2024 as the projected deadline.

The road has been out of action for months after being decimated by a 100m landslide.

But the Waikato Chamber of Commerce is “sceptical” as to whether completing the bridge by March is achievable based on Waka Kotahi’s track record.

Coromandel businesses are in “survival mode” after months of financial strain, Waikato Chamber of Commerce chief executive Don Good said.

Chief executive Don Good said the group would keep a close eye on progress.

“Coromandel businesses should be conservative and not bank on it being achieved,” he said.

“It’s a travesty that it’s taken so long to get to this point.”

Coromandel businesses would be relieved if the bridge was done in March, Good said, but some Waka Kotahi roading projects ran years late.

Up to 100 people would be working at the SH25A Taparahi site, Waka Kotahi said, and there will also be work done off-site, such as prefabricating parts for the bridge.

The Waikato Expressway was noted as an example, where major repairs between the Gordonton Rd off ramp to the Horotiu off ramp, that started back in 2019, were still underway.

Waka Kotahi responded to the concerns in a statement, referring to their original media release from June 27 when the date of completion was announced.

Building a bridge of this type would normally be expected to take 12 to 14 months, the agency said, but it was working with all involved to get the route open in nine months.

“Waka Kotahi is doing everything possible to further accelerate construction, which will include contractors working extended hours at the work site and working seven days a week where possible,” Waikato/Bay of Plenty manager of infrastructure delivery Jo Wilton said.

Contractors will be working extended hours to help speed up construction, said Waka Kotahi Waikato/Bay of Plenty manager infrastructure delivery Jo Wilton.

The Coromandel Peninsula had been battered by a summer of storms including Cyclone Hale and Cyclone Gabrielle.

The mounting financial pressure had taken its toll on local businesses, Good said, and they were in “survival mode”.

“Businesses on both sides of the Coromandel have been hurting hugely since January… They are going to have a really tough financial time because of the delay getting this road open.”

Waka Kotahi said there had been no delay to the work programme and they were “working to a schedule“.

Eighty percent of the roading staff were being housed locally on the peninsula, the agency said and would be divided into two teams and work 10-hour shifts.

Up to 100 people would be working at the SH25A Taparahi site with additional labour dedicated to work off-site, such as prefabrication of bridge components.

Good said his group hoped the agency would get the bridge done on schedule, but time would tell.

“[Waka Kotahi] have an opportunity to shine and show us that they can be a worthy steward of our roading infrastructure by delivering on their promise of completing the bridge by the end of March 2024.

“Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt and see if they can deliver.”