Waiarohia Stream closed to vessels July 1-8

This week the swivelling portion of Kotuitui Whiti, the bridge across the Waiarohia Stream, will be installed.

The waterway will be closed from tomorrow morning, Tuesday 1 July 2014, until Tuesday 8 July 2014.

This is a major stage in the development of the bridge that will complete the 4.2km looped walkway from the Town Basin, across Te Matau a Pohe to Pohe Island and back, and follows the selection of names for the bridge and walk/cycle way this month.

“The final stages of the build are now under way and we will be installing the opening section of Kotuitui Whiti this week,” said Group Manager District Living Paul Dell.

“For safety and to allow the opening section to be put in place as quickly as possible, the Waiarohia Stream will be closed for all marine traffic past the bridge site from Tuesday 1 July through to Tuesday 8 July."

“Once the middle section is in and tested the final touches will be put in place in advance of the opening. We hope members of the public will take the opportunity to come out and take a walk, or ride their bikes, around the loop and make the most of this wonderful area,” Mr Dell said.

Mr Dell said the public had put forward 35 names for the bridge and 25 for the looped walkway/shared space.

“The walkway will be called the Hatea Loop giving reference to the Hatea River which flows through the middle of the loop, and because it is used for multiple activities we dropped “walkway”.

“It will also be referred to using the Maori phrase "Huarahi o te Whai" which means "pathway of opportunity,” he said.

“A section of the Hatea Loop on Riverside Drive will be named "Ray Roberts Promenade" after the late Ray Roberts, who passed away earlier this year. The bridge itself will be called Kotuitui Whiti, a name that means ‘to interweave and connect with the land’, Mr Dell said.

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