Wakefield Street Bridge open to pedestrians and cyclists only

Published on 08 February 2025

After a recent safety review, Wakefield Street Bridge in Whanganui East will be open to pedestrians and cyclists but closed to vehicles for a minimum of 18 months.

The council’s transportation manager, Mark Allingham, says the bridge is no longer safe for vehicles of any weight.

“We know this bridge is really important to our community and we will be preparing a business case for Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency to advocate strongly for its replacement.”

He says 18 months ago the council reallocated funding for Wakefield Street Bridge to Erni’s Bridge.

“Both bridges were deteriorating rapidly but with Erni’s Bridge in a more critical location – providing the only access to Kauarapaoa Road for residents and trucks transporting logs from forestry blocks – it was decided to build that one first.”

With the reprioritisation, the council still had funding to progress geotechnical and detailed design work for Wakefield Street Bridge to get it to the shovel-ready project stage and that work has been completed.

“The council then intended for Wakefield Street Bridge to be the next cab off the rank for construction but the funding landscape changed and our 24/27 (National Land Transport Plan) NLTP application was unexpectedly turned down, along with funding for numerous other Whanganui infrastructure projects including completion of the Mountains to Sea pathway,” Mark Allingham says.

With Wakefield Street Bridge at a point where it is no longer fit for vehicles the council can now apply to a Waka Kotahi fund specifically for structures that have reached the end of their life. A business case is being developed and will be submitted this month.

“The approval process on Waka Kotahi’s end can take some time. If funding is confirmed, the council would receive 62 percent of the required funding and construction would take at least 18 months, taking into consideration the consents and coordination required with KiwiRail.”  

Elected representatives can look at the council’s share of funding for this project as part of this year’s Annual Plan process.

“People in Whanganui East might be interested to know that alterations to the Number 3 line intersection and Wakefield Road are planned to further improve traffic flow in this area,” Mark Allingham says.

Both the bridge and the detour route will be monitored throughout this time to ensure the system is working well and the detour route will be adjusted as needed.