"At least we're starting with this footbridge, which is great news for Tairua, and we thank you from Waka Kotahi for knowing our plight and pushing our kaupapa," he said.
The bridge has been a long time coming.
"You could have made a papier-mache bridge with all the reams of paper we've sent," resident Tony Jacobs told NZTA's director of regional relationships, David Speirs, after the blessing.
The Walk Tairua group and Tairua Residents and Ratepayers Association say they plan to continue seeking assistance from the Thames Coromandel District Council and NZTA to ensure a footpath links the pedestrian bridge and town.
Speirs said the new pedestrian bridge will sit beside the current one-lane Graham's Bridge, which will not be made two-lane for some years yet.
He said the new pedestrian bridge would be landscaped and completed in four weeks, and while Waka Kotahi NZTA acknowledged the community requests for a footpath, this bridge was a significant safety improvement.
"For us, we don't care whether you are in a car, on foot or bike, it's about keeping people moving. This project enables this in a safe and attractive way."
Concept plans for a replacement Pepe Bridge - which has caused growing traffic snarls along the Coromandel's east coast each New Year - were presented to the community on Wednesday.
Spiers said any replacement was still years away: "We're expecting in the 10-year window. At the moment we're doing the initial exploration of what might we put there, and then a detailed business case with costings and that will take time."
Residents had also requested a speed reduction on the northern entrance to town after Graham's Bridge, but Spiers said a statutory process had to be followed for any speed limit changes and this involved all stakeholders.
