Crews working to build the final section of Te Ara Ihutai Christchurch Coastal Pathway have been joined by some cute but slightly troublesome visitors.
The white-flippered penguins who nest and live along the stretch of coast between Moncks Bay and Redcliffs have made their first appearance of the season, which means contractor Fulton Hogan will have to make a few changes to its work programme to keep the penguins protected, Christchurch City Council head of transport and waste management Lynette Ellis said.
Fulton Hogan is partway through building the final section of the Coastal Pathway. Cameras placed around the work site to keep track of the local wildlife picked up the first nocturnal visitors last week.
"These penguins have always been on our radar, and their nesting habits were critical to the timing of this stage of the project," Ellis said.
"They’ve arrived bang on schedule, and Fulton Hogan has plans in place that will allow its crews to work around the nesting penguins without disturbing them.
"The penguins’ comings and goings are being closely surveyed so that we can determine what areas crews can safely work in over the coming months.
"Safe setback distances will be put in place to protect the penguins and Fulton Hogan will be reducing the work they do in certain areas at certain times."
Once the final section is complete, the pathway will cover 6.5km, allowing pedestrians and cyclists to travel from the Ferrymead Bridge to Scarborough Beach in Sumner.
"The Sumner community has been very patient with us reducing Main Road to one lane at times, and we're pleased to report that we're scaling back our traffic management and that Main Road has returned to normal.
"We only need one more day where we need to reduce to one lane, to make safe some power cables, which should happen in the next week or so."
