A mammoth cycling and walking path in the capital has officially opened after more than a decade in the making.
The 4.5km Te Ara Tupua path between Ngāuranga and Petone was opened today by Transport Minister Chris Bishop. Planning for the pathway began in 2013.
The New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi project cost $348.7 million, after blowing out its original 2022 estimate of between $170 and $190 million.
At its peak, around 130 workers were involved in the construction, battling the windy conditions of the Wellington Harbour.
"I’m not happy about the cost, to be honest," Bishop told 1News, adding, "$350 million is a lot of money".
"I would have liked to have seen it done cheaper. At the end of the day, the project started in 2022; here we are in 2026. I happen to be the Minister of Transport who’s got the honour to open it."
His son Jeremy, on a scooter, was the first to officially use the pathway, which opens to the public on Saturday.
The path also acts as a seawall alongside State Highway 2 and the railway line, protecting transport links from future coastal erosion. More than 6000 interlocking concrete blocks in six sections of seawall were also added to strengthen the shoreline.
Bishop said first and foremost, the pathway was a resilience project for the coastline.
In June 2013, a large storm swept through the capital, cutting power to homes and damaging the rail line between Ngāuranga and Petone.
The minister said the weather event was a "visible demonstration of what happens when the railway line goes down".
"The reality is if that line goes down and the trains can't run for an extended period of time, it's economically chaotic for the region."
The project also came with environmental concerns.
Five little blue penguins / kororā were killed over the three-year construction period, leading to preventative measures like trained dogs and workers conducting ecology sweeps of the site.
'Great time to invest in an e-bike'
Bishop said the path would be well used by commuters.
The Greens' transport spokesperson Julie-Anne Genter said projects such as Te Ara Tupua would give people more options for commuting and transport resilience.
"[It's a] great time to invest in an e-bike or an e-scooter because it’s not just an inexpensive but a really enjoyable way to get around," she said.
NZTA estimated there would be more than 2100 trips by bike and 360 pedestrian trips on the path each weekday by 2030.
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