Pictured L to R - Mayor Craig Jepson, Rachael Williams - KDC Councillor Kaiwaka - Mangawhai Ward, Councillor Ash Nayyar, Jonathan Larsen - for Mayor of Kaipara District, Wharehine Contract Manager Jordan Watson, KDC Project Manager Tim Manning, Wharehine Project Manager Arshad Beig

Back in 2020 I approached Hon. Shane Jones who at the time was the Minister for Regional Economic Development overseeing the Provincial Growth Fund.I pitched to him a Kaiwaka Can concept to link up central Kaiwaka and with Minister Jones' support cabinet approved a budget of $750,000 for two footbridges and an interconnecting footpath on the western side of town.

The two bridges were built but this used all of the budget at the time. Last year I gained support to complete the project with Council allocating the remaining budget for the footpath.Works on the footpath were started yesterday by Wharehine Contractors and are scheduled to be completed by mid August.

The state highway is only going to get busier, and the proposed district plan identifies significant potential commercial rezoning just west of the highway. Taking these points into consideration, it makes this project even more important for the improvement of pedestrian safety and connectivity in Kaiwaka.