Unveiling of $1.7 million Kotuitui Whiti Bridge

The new Kotuitui Whiti bridge across Waiarohia Stream will be formally opened tomorrow. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Whangarei's newest bridge and associated 4.2km walking/cycling loop will be officially opened tomorrow with a formal ceremony on the Hihiaua Peninsula.

The bridge over the Waiarohia Stream, Kotuitui Whiti, and associated loop walkway around the Town Basin, will be officially opened at 9.30am by Mayor Sheryl Mai, who will cut the ribbon that will then spark a mass walk, cycle, skate and amble through the associated Hatea Loop (Huarahi o te Whai, or Pathway of Opportunity).

The new bridge joins the $30 million bascule bridge Te Matau a Pohe, which opened in July last year, and is one of around 60 bridges in Whangarei city and 283 in the district. The $1.7m Kotuitui Whiti will become the newest addition to Whangarei's collection of unique and innovative bridges. A central rotating section will allow boats to use the Waiarohia Stream.

Kotuitui Whiti is the lynchpin of the Hatea Loop, a 4.2km long multi-use trail that circles the inner harbour, from the canopy bridge at the Town Basin to where Te Matau a Pohe spans the Hatea River between Okara and Pohe Island. In March of this year, members of the public were asked to suggest names for the new footbridge. The council collected 35 names and 25 for the looped walkway, deciding on Kotuitui Whiti and Hatea Loop.

A section of the Hatea Loop in Riverside Dr is known as the "Ray Roberts Promenade", in honour of Ray Roberts, who owned and managed Riverside Drive Marina.