The Government gave the city council $15.8 million in Shovel Ready funding to build the missing section of the pathway between the eastern end of Redcliffs Village and Shag Rock.
But the final cost is expected to come in at $17.3 million.
City council general manager infrastructure, planning and regulatory services Jane Davis said funds were held in contingency for the project to cover any increased cost.
Staff will seek approval this week from city councillors to draw down the funds.
Said Davis: “The marine environment and the narrow road posed all sorts of unknown challenges, but the team now fully understands what’s required, how long it will take, and what it will cost.
“Our focus has always been on delivering a quality, future-proof pathway while keeping the impact on the environment and the community to a minimum, and we always knew this section of pathway was going to be complicated,” Davis said.
“However, we’ve faced some additional challenges, including Covid-19 related delays in obtaining construction materials, that have added to the costs of the project.
“Fulton Hogan developed a different way of delivering the works that addressed many of the challenges associated with the marine environment and ground conditions.
“Because this area of Moncks Bay is known as an early settlement area for both Māori and Europeans, the cost also includes archaeological and cultural monitoring of all excavation works, and monitoring of white flippered penguins that breed in the area.”
Davis said amending some of the resource consents to accommodate these changes resulted in additional design and consenting costs, but has reduced the risks and provided greater certainty over the final cost.
“Despite the challenges of building this section of the pathway, Fulton Hogan has been making excellent progress and we are still on track to finish the pathway by the end of 2023.”
The current traffic management around the area, with traffic reduced to one lane between 9am-7pm, will stay in place until August 22.
