All part of the great plan the great

It’s a hole, a strategic hole, a $3.2 million strategic hole that will help make the city waterfront a more fun place to be.

And it’s been carved through the railway embankment at the city end of the Matapihi rail bridge near the Harbourside restaurant.

e hole is an underpass beneath the railway line at the southern end of e Strand Extension –and it is one step closer to Tauranga City Council’s construction of a waterfront boardwalk into the city centre.

“ e underpass and boardwalk form part of several exciting projects underway to upgrade our city centre waterfront,” says TCC city development general manager

Gareth Wallis. “ e upgrades will create more fun things for people to do.”

A big task e railway embankment excavation wasn’t without its challenges. Teams installing the underpass had a tight deadline to align with KiwiRail tra c and avoid disrupting rail services. ere was just a three-day window of opportunity to do the job. e wing walls on either side of the underpass have been installed and now landscaping is underway. What’s next e next part of the project is to construct the new section of boardwalk, which will run along the southern end of e Strand on the harbour-side of the railway line. When the project is complete, the underpass will link e Strand with an area known as Tunks Reserve at the top of Elizabeth St.

Teams spent one day digging the cutting through the railway line. e second day the 85-tonne culvert was lifted into place.

Back lling completed that part of the project, then there was the handover back to KiwiRail to reinstate the railway lines.

It’s a work in progress and is all aimed at providing better access from the city to the waterfront.

It’s anticipated that by early next year people will be able to walk through the underpass and along the water’s edge.

A total of $94.8 million has been allocated to the transformation and development of the city centre waterfront. Hunter Wells