The Saltwater Creek Cycle Way Bridge is the key feature of a new city to sea cycleway connection between Nelson City and the waterfront. The bridge design is the product of a mini internal office design completion, where Nelson City Council requested three concepts for evaluation by the council. The timber bridge design was selected as this best fulfilled NCC key requirements, including:  

• Cost-effective    
• Low maintenance - It is in a marine environment    
• Lightweight - The bridge supports a piled down to 8m
• Sustainable – Fully timber
• Responded to the cycleway and Maitai river walkway context with the use of Garapa slats used elsewhere on the Maitai river walkway.
• A low depth structure under the bridge due to minimum flood levels and required freeboard and cycleway grades.

The bridge is based on a traditional German Trog Brücke, or trough/ open bridge with glulam beams and cloaked in curved Garapa slats which reflect the idea of a waka/hull with the site being an early landing for local Iwi. Bridge details:

• 3m wide and clear spans 24m, with further land spans bringing the total length 30m.
• H5 1390 x 260mm Radiata Glulam beams
• 90 x 45 Garapa side slats
• H5 Radiata timber boarding to the deck

The entire structure was prefabricated and lifted on to the piled concrete support beams either side of the creek, avoiding any scaffolding and avoided any ecological impacts to the surrounding waterway and river bed