Ahead of a new gondola cableway being installed early next winter, featuring 10-seater cabins replacing late-1980s four-seaters, work has started on new top and bottom terminals, work on a 400-space car park begins next month and the last stage of a Bob’s Peak tree-clearing exercise starts next week.
Foundations for new gondola towers, also going in next winter, are already in place.
The $250 million project also includes a new restaurant and viewing deck, but that is still to be scheduled.
Until now, tree clearance 90 metres either side of the new gondola has been the project’s most visible feature.
The fifth, final and most challenging stage will be largely completed by end of the year.
"From town, when it’s completed, it will be more like a concentric diamond shape," Skyline Enterprises chief executive Geoff McDonald said.
Development general manager Steve McLean suggested it was "probably one of the most difficult forestry contracts going on at the moment in New Zealand".
On a geologist’s advice, bluffs also had to be rock-bolted.
Now also visible from town is the steel structure for the gondola top terminal, which is 80% to 90% in place.
Mr McDonald said some called it "a big steel monstrosity", but to meet seismic rating on the hill it had to be 1.7 times stronger than if it was downtown.
In recent works, steelwork had also started for the new bottom terminal, which would be built over the existing one.
Mr McLean said builder Naylor Love was working closely with gondola installer Doppelmayr on both structures.
While the top one would be ready when the new cableway opened, about July 2 next year — after the old one shut down on May 23 — the bottom terminal would finish about September.
Meanwhile, a huge rock cut, to allow for the four-level car park building, finished this week.
Piling starts mid-next month to start a 12-month build.
Mr McLean said building challenges included the steep hill "and the fact we’re constructing it around an operating business".
"Health and safety is obviously paramount with the number of people on the hill.
"There are a lot of moving parts and a lot of very engaged people making sure it happens."
Mr McDonald said while Skyline was yet to schedule the new restaurant facility, it needed to be replaced by 2035 as the current one did not meet earthquake code.
To keep the business going, a smaller facility would first be built next to it that would then join up with the new build.
By Philip Chandler
