Despite weather setbacks, a new cycle and walkway from Picton to Kaikōura should have its largest structure - a clip-on bridge north of Blenheim - finished before winter.
The clip-on attachment to the Wairau Bridge on SH1 is nearly completed. Photo: SUPPLIED: BRYA INGRAM/STUFF
And once completed, the Wairau River bridge add-on will provide a safer track for cyclists to ride along the main highway.
Marlborough Kaikōura Trail Trust adviser Ian Bond said the construction team needed to build it from the riverbed - which had its challenges.
"We had that flood in February, the river got well up, and so the site was closed down for a whole month," Bond said.
The 210-kilometre cycle and walkway from Picton to Kaikōura has been in the pipeline for years.
Known as the Whale Trail, it was floated after the 2016 earthquake as a way to showcase the east coast as a tourism destination, rather than a thoroughfare.
Bond, a retired civil engineer, is helping with the bridge components of the project, including the Awatere and Hāpuku, just north of Kaikōura.
On Wednesday, he thanked the team behind the project over a morning tea.
"The whole objective was to get all of this up before winter, before there's high river flows," Bond said.
He said 12 trusses were erected this week; four on Monday and eight on Tuesday.
Three more trusses would need to be installed to complete this section of the project.
"We had great weather in March and April, apart from some flooding just before Anzac weekend ... now they just have to finish the grouting of the bracket," he said.
"So we need another couple of weeks of good weather, and low flows to get the three trusses down the end."
Fulton Hogan Marlborough regional manager Lourens van der Vyver said the biggest challenge was accessing the river bed, and working out of it.
"Obviously, with the amount of rain we've had in Marlborough recently it has been quite a challenge to manage around the river," van der Vyver said.
"The reason that we went from the river bed is obviously there are efficiencies, we don't have to interfere with the state highway traffic, and be a nuisance to the community."
He said all the components had been custom-built off-site.
"A large part of this job has been getting the measurements right, and then getting the manufacturing of the bridge and all the components," he said.
"I think it's been a great project to be involved in, it's been a very tricky project."
HML Engineering sales and project manager Reece Hamilton said the project was high profile, given it ran along State Highway 1.
He said the river bed meant the project had its challenges, but they were pleased with the results so far.
Marlborough Kaikōura Trail Trust adviser Ian Bond, a retired civil engineer, has been assisting with the Whale Trail. Photo: SUPPLIED: BRYA INGRAM/STUFF
The Whale Trail is designed to be easily accessed from a number of entry and exit points.
It will combine new cross-country trails across hills, existing paths and quiet country roads.
The path from Picton to Seddon was planned to be completed by the end of 2022.
More than a third of the route was owned by KiwiRail, Waka Kotahi NZTA, NCTIR and the Department of Conservation, but another third would require agreements with private landowners. About 10 per cent of the route could use existing pathways.
The "shovel-ready" project has been made possible by $18m funding from the Government's regional economic development organisation, Kānoa - RDU.
The Government also paid for the technical study to identify the route, cost the project and develop a business case.
The Marlborough District Council has committed $2m for the section of the trail within Marlborough's boundary.
Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
