New Pūāhuru (Jims Way) Bridge

Following an announcement on Friday from Minister of Transport Chris Bishop, Queenstown Trails is delighted to announce a partnership with Waka Kotahi NZTA and Queenstown Lakes District Council to deliver more vital active transport infrastructure in the form of the Pūāhuru Bridge at Jims Way, a walking and cycling crossing of State Highway 6, to enable a safe and integrated passage to Frankton from the eastern suburbs of Ladies Mile and Lower Shotover.

The bridge project, originally part of the ‘Whakatipu Active Transport Network’ has been enabled through funding commitment from NZTA via Kā Huanui a Tāhuna, the Whakatipu Transport Programme Alliance, with support from Queenstown Trails via a generous grant from the Mactodd Community Charitable Trust.

With detailed design already completed, NZTA will commence with construction of the bridge this year. Queenstown Trails will deliver the trail connections on each side of the bridge, with the new trail on the southern (Hardware Lane) side linking into the existing shared pathways in front of Bunnings and Five Mile and through the new BP intersection. QLDC is supporting these trail connections with the provision of safe crossing interventions at Tucker Beach Road, Hawthorne Drive and Grant Road.

Queenstown Trails CEO Mark ‘Willy’ Williams stresses the importance of collaborations to get these projects done. “This bridge will be a gamechanger for enabling active transport opportunities, linking recreational trails to commuter trails from all corners of our community. It’s only happening because a lot of different people from different organisations lobbied and advocated for this essential crossing over a number of years.”

Williams notes this project, in conjunction with the Jacks Point to Frankton Trail also under development, solves a significant chunk of the severed cycling infrastructure from our fastest growing residential suburbs. As our roads become busier, providing alternate options for getting around will be essential for the next generation.

Those are sentiments echoed by the Lightfoot Initiative’s Co-Founder Amanda Robinson, who have also been instrumental in lobbying for this project to be delivered. “Until we have a safe and well-connected network of commuter trails, we can’t expect behavioural change to more active modes from our community. This vital connection removes those barriers, provides options for commuting and gives comfort to parents to allow their kids to cycle safely to high school.”

The project is scheduled to start construction later this year.