It’s with great pleasure I can tell you that we have passed another milestone on this project.
We have now completed fund raising the $68,500 required for the design and consenting part of the project. Bruce Cole, our project manager, has let the bridge design contract to Abseil Access, our preferred contractor. In a couple of months, we will be able to take the first iteration of the design to Greater Wellington Regional Council for consent and to KiwiRail for a license to occupy their rail corridor. Once consent and license are complete, Abseil Access will finalise the design and prepare fixed price turnkey contract documents for their construction of the bridge.
When we have the firm price to build the bridge later this year, we will to be able to start fundraising for actual construction
Once complete, this bridge will be the longest cycle suspension bridge in New Zealand and the complete 11km route from Featherston to Woodside will be a major community asset for locals in Featherston and Greytown and for our wider community
We acknowledge Eastern and Central Community Trust and South Wairarapa District Council as major donors for this stage of the project. We also acknowledge A1 Homes and a number of very generous private individuals who have dug deep in their pockets to help us.
We also acknowledge the generosity of landowners on both banks of the river who have made the whole project possible by allowing access trails over their land and WCM Legal who shepherded the complex legalities of these access trails through to completion.
Shane Atkinson,
Chair,
Greytown Trails Trust