Whanganui District Council sets date for velodrome track replacement

The Whanganui velodrome has been closed for safety reasons since February 2021. Photo / Bevan Conley

Work on replacing the Whanganui velodrome track will start in April.

The existing 25-year-old track deteriorated due to exposure and, with some of the tropical hardwood rotting, Whanganui District Council closed it for safety reasons in February 2021.

In May 2021, the council voted to include $2.5 million in its Long Term Plan (LTP) for the velodrome. Three options for the velodrome’s future were considered: replacing the track, roofing the velodrome or decommissioning it.

The replacement track is budgeted to cost $2.5m and work is expected to take up to three months.

The council said specialist contractors Velotrack, based in Germany, would replace the track using a wood called Accoya, which goes through an acetylation process to give it a longer lifespan than ordinary wood. The Accoya wood will be supplied by New Zealand company Hermpac.

The balustrade surrounding the velodrome will be heightened for increased safety.

Accoya timber to replace the Whanganui velodrome track is being dressed at a factory in Auckland, with Germany-based contractor Velotrack supervising on-site.

“This option, knowing that the wood has a 50-year warranty, allows for both current cyclists and the next generation to benefit from the track,” councillor Philippa Baker-Hogan said.

“Already we know it is likely to be used by our neighbours, such as cyclists in Palmerston North. We are also anticipating the velodrome will be used for the 2025 Masters Games.

“The way the new track will be installed is specialised in order to meet the 15-degree angle of the basin.”

Whanganui Cycling Club patron and former national track cycling coach Ron Cheatley said he was “delighted that we have at least reached this point”.

“Whanganui has a strong and successful cycling history, so to have the velodrome operational again is great,” Cheatley said.

There may be an opportunity for the community to purchase parts of the existing track during the replacement process, the council said. More information will be available in the coming months.

The council is working with Whanganui Cycling Club and the cycling community, locally and regionally, with regard to how they want to use the velodrome when it re-opens.