A $5.4 million proposal to make a Lower Hutt railway bridge safe for walkers has ballooned into a standalone bridge costing between $12 million and $21m to build, which it’s claimed could be made redundant in a decade.
By Justin Wong of Local Democracy Reporting
The original plan to attach a steel walkway to the railway bridge which crosses Te Awa Kairangi Hutt River was projected to be finished by mid-2026, but engineers declared in May that a clip-on path or suspension bridge was unworkable because it would overload the bridge.
Councillors will decide on Thursday whether to scuttle the project and not replace a wooden walkway that once attached to the side of the rail bridge between Ava and Woburn stations, as a council paper declared any clip-on paths and suspension bridges to be impossible.
The Hutt City Council had to demolish the old walkway for KiwiRail to replace the sleepers and rail on the rail bridge.
More than 220 residents from the nearby Bob Scott Retirement Village signed a petition in January 2025, saying it was of "paramount importance" to find money to replace the rail bridge walkway.
Resident and signatory Stan Andis felt the public was not consulted on the options and his preference was still attaching a walkway to the rail bridge.
A paper prepared for next week’s Hutt City Council infrastructure and regulatory committee meeting ruled out clip-on paths and suspension bridges because of "significant structural, geotechnical, and approval risks".
That leaves three types of standalone bridges: A short span girder, a multi-span arch or a Bailey bridge, which avoided the rail bridge and were "considered technically viable". The paper said they cost between $12 million and $21m, on top of an annual $50,000 maintenance bill. The Government’s earlier pledge to share the cost to build a walkway replacement was limited to a clip-on path.
'Redundant within a decade'
KiwiRail Wellington general manager Andy Lyon said it would cost $20m to strengthen the rail bridge piers enough for a walkway to be attached to the side, and that did not include building the walkway itself.
"Given the bridge will be up for full replacement within the next 15 to 20 years, we have to consider the value in making this level of investment at this stage of its life,” he said. “It’s a hard, but necessary call to make. We can’t compromise safety but appreciate how much the community misses their walkway."
If councillors wanted to continue the project, the council would need launch a public consultation to budget it in its long-term plan or apply money from the Regional Land Transport programme. Detailed design would start in mid-2028 and construction would begin in 2029.
Councillor Simon Edwards, chairperson of the infrastructure and regulatory committee, said it was frustrating and the $12m price tag would weigh heavily on councillors’ minds.
Another bridge proposed just 200m away
The bridge would need a Greater Wellington Regional Council consent for the piers in the river and there was no guarantee KiwiRail would be happy to financially contribute. The proposed Cross Valley Link would also add another new bridge just 200m away, Edwards added, which would make this bridge "redundant within a decade".
The council’s economy and development director, Jon Kingsbury, said the updated technical advice significantly changed the project.
"We know the loss of the walkway has had a real impact on many people in the community, and we appreciate there will be disappointment that the original proposal cannot proceed."
If councillors chose to scrap the project next week, the nearest walking river crossings would be the Waione St or Ewen bridges about 1km away.
– Local Democracy Reporting is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
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