Bridging the gap: a temporary closure for Lightpath

Jun 04, 2017
Bridging the gap: a temporary closure for Lightpath

Bike Auckland

In case you missed the news: Lightpath will be temporarily closed from Tuesday June 6 for up to 9 days, for the resurfacing of the sinuous Canada St Bridge section.

The main surface of Lightpath was successfully ‘repinked‘ in March, but the connecting bridge required more testing, as its surface had become delaminated (peeling away from the surface below). As a safety matter, it needs repairing, and while nobody’s thrilled to have to close access, we agree with NZTA that it’s better to have the job done sooner rather than later – especially with works starting in June on the rest of Nelson St, and the full city loop within sight.

The connecting bridge will be coated with the same marine-grade UV-resistant magenta coating as the rest of Lightpath. That means it’ll not only be a lot more robust, it’ll also be more obvious from the Canada St end that this is, indeed, the entrance to the ‘pink path.’

We know the first question will be: what’s the detour?

NZTA and AT are being more proactive this time about advising of walking and biking detours. Click here for the full map: MapofLightpathclosure (PDF), and see below for a close-up of the immediate area. For those on bikes, Grafton Gully is the safest off-road connection to the waterfront. The Pitt St option requires riding with traffic, and is recommended for confident on-road cyclists – that said, Grey’s Ave to Aotea Square is generally a quiet route.

The path is currently scheduled to reopen Thursday 15 June, allowing for bad weather – but fingers crossed the work will be completed ahead of schedule, as it was last time. May the weather gods be kind!

Answers to other FAQs from NZTA below…

Why does the entire Lightpath need to be closed if it’s only Canada St that is being resurfaced?

The entire path needs to close due to the nature of the work being carried out and for health and safety. The contractor will be applying the new surface, which needs time to bond properly. The Lightpath will be a temporary work site and very slippery until all the resurfacing work has been finished.

Why wasn’t the Canada St section resurfaced in March alongside the rest of the Lightpath?

The contractor carried out several tests on the Canada St Bridge surface to ensure that the correct surface preparation, application and materials are applied to make the surface durable. All the required test results were not ready by March 2017, when the other part of the Lightpath was refreshed. The last test at the Canada Street Bridge determined sufficient bonding of the new surface to the metal deck and was only completed on 10 April 2017.

From earlier this year: test patch, old pink, sandy old bridge.

Who is paying for the resurfacing work?

Hawkins infrastructure is responsible for the cost of replacing the delaminated bauxite surface with the same material, which is covered under the defects liability. NZTA is covering the cost of upgrading the bauxite surface to magenta.

 

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