Up and over – Westgate Walk/Cycle Bridge opens!

Westgate Bridge Opening 01Sometimes, things move pretty quickly. Here we were posting about progress on the new walking and cycling overbridge at Westgate over the SH16 motorway – remarking on how it had come far, but still seeming very much like a work in progress – and now it’s almost finished, and the opening ceremonies have been announced!

It will happen on the 31st of January, on site, from 7:15am, with a breakfast after. Hope a lot of you can make it (RSVPs to Jala at NZTA please – places for late-comers could be limited as the local community has also been invited).

We just have one comment, and feel a bit churlish for it – but it has to be asked: Why does the invite for the event seem to assume everyone arrives by car (it is a walking & cycling bridge for the local community!), and will then drive over to the second venue for the complimentary breakfast? The Cafe is almost 5km away from the site! Wouldn’t it have been a better idea to put up a few trestle tables at the bridge, with coffee and juice and maybe a few snacks, and celebrate with the local cyclists and pedestrians? Because few will ride all the way to Brigham Creek Road after the ribbon-cutting, and none will walk there…

Update: We raised the issue with NZTA’s event managers and gotten some feedback that lets us hope that this event (or at least future ones) can be tweaked to avoid the concerns.

Westgate Bridge Opening 02But as we said, the real point here is a bridge that will stay around, and be usable any time, night or day, to get you across safe and sound. Ring a bell if you see traffic jams below or on Hobsonville Road, because you’ll now have the better route!

[Oh, and we hope the bridge gets a “real” name too! Any suggestions?]

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