22 Jul 2022

Christchurch City Council has confirmed the cost of building the final and most complex section of Te Ara Ihutai Christchurch Coastal Pathway.

The Government gave the Council $15.8 million in Shovel Ready funding to build the missing section of the Coastal Pathway – between the eastern end of Redcliffs Village and Shag Rock, Sumner – but with the site conditions now fully understood, the Council expects completing the pathway will cost $17.3 million.

The Council has sufficient funds held in contingency for the project to cover the increased cost, but staff need the approval of elected members before they can draw down the funds. They will ask for that approval at the 28 July Council meeting.

Read the report.

“The marine environment and the narrow road posed all sorts of unknown challenges, but the team now fully understands what’s required, how long it will take, and what it will cost,” says Council General Manager Infrastructure, Planning and Regulatory Services Jane Davis.

“Our focus has always been on delivering a quality, future-proof pathway while keeping the impact on the environment and the community to a minimum, and we always knew this section of pathway was going to be complicated. However, we’ve faced some additional challenges, including COVID-19 related delays in obtaining construction materials, that have added to the costs of the project,” Ms Davis says.

“Fulton Hogan developed a different way of delivering the works that addressed many of the challenges associated with the marine environment and ground conditions. Because this area of Moncks Bay is known as an early settlement area for both Māori and Europeans, the cost also  includes archaeological and cultural monitoring of all excavation works, and monitoring of white flippered penguins that breed in the area.

“Amending some of our resource consents to accommodate these changes resulted in additional design and consenting costs, but has reduced the risks and given us greater certainty over the final cost.

“Despite the challenges of building this section of the pathway, Fulton Hogan has been making excellent progress and we are still on track to finish the pathway by the end of 2023,” Ms Davis says.

The current traffic management in place around the area, with traffic reduced to one lane between 9am–7pm, will stay in place until Monday 22 August.