10

Finally

by Whaleoil on December 11, 2011

The new Kopu Bridge is finally open.

I well remember years and years of sitting in long queues at the Kopu Bridge waiting to go to Pauanui for my holidays, originally as a passenger in Dad’s car later as a driver when I would be towing the Hobie cat or a trailer. I once even road across the old bridge bridge when my Scout Troop cycled from Auckland to Pauanui one weekend.

I also remember the extensive lobbying that occurred in the 90s when Maurice Williamson was Transport Minister. Jeanette Fitzsimons when MP for Coromandel vociferously opposed anyone even speaking of the bridge.

Maurice never did get the drive built, despite my father ringing him every time he was stuck in traffic at the bridge and reminding him.

Steven Joyce has however managed to get it all done.

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  • Petal

    No sh1t… I used to sail the Hobie 16 off Pauanui also.  Another fave was to “walk” up to the trig and then do the loop back through the firebreak and the shortcut that always had that “i reckon I am trespassing” feeling about it :)  Always a good place to go when heavy rain was forecast so you could call in Monday morning and say “sorry, LOVE to come to work, but can’t”.  Batch had no radio, no TV but we always took lots of good company.  $10 per person per night.  Good times.

    • http://www.whaleoil.co.nz Whaleoil

      heh the short cut through the hotel grounds…snigger, did it many times.

      Ran in the King of the Mountain too one year.

      • Petal

        Ran?  You’re a better man than me… that’s why there will be no asymmetrical challenge…. 

      • Guest

        You lads ever go lobbing lemons or pine cones onto the roofs of the shitty old bats that used to snarl at the kids? Used to cause them to wake up in horror at 10pm, and run outside calling out “who’s there?”

        Ah – the summers of my misspent youth in Pauanui….

      • http://www.whaleoil.co.nz Whaleoil

        I used to take out the number 2 wood and drive balls straight at Arch Lepanovic house plus the grumpy cunt that lived next door to him. I think it was the old number 4 tee, now the number 3 tee. Nice early morning wake up.

  • tango man

    I reckon it was fitzsimmons’ attitude to the bridge that made the coromandel folks realise just what effect having a green in charge of anything important would have on the country….hence it’s return to the blue side of the house so firmly.
    The selfishness of the greens as exampled by fitzsimmons in killing the new bridge project all that time ago is pretty typical of that crowds mindset…. she didn’t want to make it easier for lots of nasty aucklanders to have easier access to the area, thus polluting her precious coromandel that she moved to from…. auckland!… just a few years previously!
    It was that action there that really turned me off “greenthink” way back then. Haven’t seen anything else in the following years to make me change my mind.

    • Gazzaw

      Well said Tango! With good road access now we can get some real progress in the mining and forestry industries as well. 

      Prospect it! Drill it! Mine it!  

      • Mediatart

        What access for mining and forestry ? For  Mining at Waihi you go through Paeroa anyway, and for forestry the logs would via Whitianga to the Mount.

  • Mediatart

    I thought the Kopu bridge was ‘approved’ back in 2006 or so. The TCDC blocked it as they wanted  more money and didnt want to be stuck with the cost of the maintenance  of the old bridge.

    Meanwhile the Manawatu Gorge is still blocked…. and you thought  giving holiday makers a few hours delay was a problem. Do I have news for you that makes the  Auckland wharfies seem like  Hare Krishna

  • Gazzaw

    Mediatart – there are a lot more mining prospects further up the peninsula and the total export of logs out of Tauranga was due to difficulties accessing Auckland over the old Kopu bridge. Once POA gets its labour shit sorted then Auckland can compete for this business.