A walking and cycling bridge spanning the Tairua River is moving closer to becoming a reality, and the public now has the chance to be a permanent part of it.
The team behind the Tairua River Trail have launched a “Build A Bridge” campaign to help fundraise for the 120-metre suspension bridge, which will form the centrepiece of a 13km off-road trail connecting Pauanui and Tairua in the coming years.
Once completed, the trail is expected to bring a range of benefits to the Pauanui and Tairua communities, including recreational and environmental, as well as creating safer off-road walking and cycling routes and boosting local businesses.
Donors – whether individuals, charitable trusts or businesses – can choose their donation level, starting with pledges for single planks for $2,000. Donors will be recognised on an honours board at the bridge site. Construction on the bridge will start this coming summer, depending on funding.
Hikuai District Trust Chair Derrick Adams says the trail has been always been known as “the people’s trail” – built, maintained and partly funded through the generosity of locals – and called on people to get behind this exciting new stage of its construction.
“The bridge is going to be a fantastic addition to the Eastern Coromandel’s trail network and a resource for both locals and visitors to be proud of,” Mr Adams says.
“We started out with 165 planks to sell and we’re confident of finding a donor for every one of them. We’ve already secured a cornerstone partner and together with some early plank donors we have approximately 30% of the funds we’ll need to build the bridge. We’re looking for generous donors who want to help us get the rest of the way.
“You can contribute as much as little or you like – starting with a single plank, but if you want to be a naming sponsor of the bridge, we’re here for that conversation too.
“We already have a great group of contributors who make regular donations via our ‘Trail Blazers’ programme, as well as others who make one-off donations when they’re able. We know not everyone will be in a position give money right now, but every dollar large or small takes us a step closer to making this community dream a reality.”
People who are interested in donating can find their full list of options at https://www.tairuarivertrail.org.nz/donate.html.
Mr Adams hailed the steady progress building the next section of trail towards Tairua over the summer. From a starting point on the north bank directly across the river from where the south bank trail ends, volunteers and Storms Contracting have built about 1.5km of trail around the Tanners Farm area.
“Our team has another 1.2km or so of trail building to go before they reach Swampy Stream, where we’ll have to build a new bridge to reach the SH25 road reserve. This will complete approximately 2.7km of trail, which we hope to open to the public later this year.
“We’ll then connect this section to the south bank trail via the suspension bridge – which we hope to start building next summer depending on funding – creating an uninterrupted 10km trail from Pauanui Waterways to Swampy Stream Bridge.”
Once these tasks have been completed, trail construction will continue downriver towards Tairua via new trail and boardwalk sections, eventually finishing next to the Tairua Primary School on Petley Parade.
“The trail is fully consented and our conversations with locals in both towns over summer tells us they’re on board. With the continued generosity of local donors, we’re aiming to have the trail fully completed in the next few years,” Mr Adams says.
The next major fundraising event for the trail is a “Gatsby Las Vegas” gala night at Puka Park in Pauanui on Saturday 30 May. Tickets are available from the Pauanui Information Centre or by emailing patcourtney@xtra.co.nz
