Work is underway to repair cracks in a $7m coastal pathway in Mount Maunganui that opened in December.
Around 20 cracks have appeared in the concrete of the 3km path that runs along Marine Parade from Hopukiore (Mount Drury Reserve) to Oceanbeach Road.
Tauranga City Council senior project manager Deon Connoway says remediation work has begun to repair around 20 cracks along the path.
“These types of defects are not unexpected on a concreting job of this size.”
The work will take around two weeks to complete and involves removing the cracked concrete and replacing it with new concrete, he says.
The repair is being done by Fulton Hogan, which built the path, under the existing contract.
The cost of repair will be covered by Fulton Hogan, says Connoway.
“The path has been really popular with locals and visitors alike and the repairs were delayed until this week to avoid any disruption during the peak summer holiday period and April school holidays.”
The coastal pathway opened in December 2023. Photo: Bob Tulloch/SunLive.
Local Democracy Reporting asked Fulton Hogan why the path had cracked and what the cost of repair would be.
A spokesperson responded that they would not be making comment at this time.
The Marine Parade pathway is a continuation of the existing Main Beach boardwalk, which was built in 1999.
Construction of the 4m wide path began in April 2023 and it opened in December.
It cost $7.1 million to build and includes more than 1km of timber boardwalk, 10,184 square metres of concrete, 41,080 screws, and 123,240 nails.
It was designed to be used by everyone including pedestrians, cyclists, users of wheelchairs and mobility devices, skaters and scooter riders.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
7 comments
Gold Plated
Posted on 14-05-2024 12:22 | By Eyes Wide Shut
Or $2366.00 per lineal meter...about right
The Master
Posted on 14-05-2024 14:45 | By Ian Stevenson
Just a few months and its already falling apart....
So TCC need to substantially increase the mandatory fees for walking and cycles to pay for this, right?
Hmmm
Posted on 14-05-2024 16:54 | By Let's get real
The ongoing maintenance costs will be enormous, because of all of the roots of the trees along the route.
Everyone seems to forget that every metre of public space is included in the annual budget to be inspected by Parks and Reserves staff (or more accurately, their contractors). So the actual cost of every metre of footpath, whether concrete or timber, is increased every year under the empire building decisions of council seat warmers, because they have to be inspected by the appropriately trained staff member, who will write a report to go to Parks and Reserves in council offices and a work order will then be issued for work to commence over and above the contract.
A license to print money for the contractors and incoherent thinking once again in council offices.
The bigger the empire, the greater the costs.
Who chooses these contractors?
Posted on 14-05-2024 19:07 | By Ben Dover
Yet another fine piece of work by Fulton Hogan!!! Did anyone else tender for this work??
More spend coming
Posted on 14-05-2024 21:44 | By Naysay
They are removing grass and replacing it with more landscaping. And this needs to be maintained so more costs to rate payers. Like the current gardens are amazing ??
Hmmm
Posted on 15-05-2024 10:54 | By Let's get real
For those that are unaware, businesses pay sizable sums for the privilege of becoming a "city partner" and are then given preferential treatment when quoting for council works.
I don't (but I do) know the official term for this type of business relationship, but none of this ever happens anywhere in New Zealand.
Irresponsibility with OPM.
Posted on 15-05-2024 14:47 | By morepork
“These types of defects are not unexpected on a concreting job of this size.” Really? So you admit you can't lay concrete without having an ongoing cash cow? The Romans laid concrete that could set underwater. They also used lime in such a way that any cracks in their concrete were "self healing". (History does not record what the ongoing costs were, but you can walk on this stuff 2000 years later and there are no cracks in it...). Neither the contractors nor the Council have any respect for Other People's Money (OPM) and it is pretty shameful that in a technology that makes every person contactable instantly, and has put men on the moon, we still EXPECT to get cracks in concrete. I commend the fact that Fulton Hogan will pick up the costs for this (at least they are acting responsibly), but they shouldn't have to.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to make a comment.