Dear Auckland Transport,

I would like to receive the following information regarding a former rail overbridge in Paerata.

The bridge in question was part of Sim Road in Paerata. It was the only way to cross the railway line between Paerata and Drury, which are almost 7 km apart. The exact coordinates of the former bridge are 37°09'08.6"S, 174°54'01.4"E or in decimal form: -37.152377, 174.900354. The following weblinks show a map of the location of the former bridge:

1. Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/place/37%C2%...
2. Land Information New Zealand (LINZ)’s Topo500 map: https://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap?v=2&...

I have the following questions about this bridge:

1. What was the justification for removing the bridge (the removal of which I believe occurred around 2008-2009)?
1(a). If this was due to a structural issue or another defect in the bridge itself, why was the bridge removed instead of being fixed or replaced?
1(a)(i). If the answer to 1(a) is due to the cost, I would like to know any estimates that exist of what the cost of repairing the old bridge would have been, before the bridge’s removal around 2009.

2. Are there any plans to rebuild the bridge or provide another way to cross the railway line between State Highway 22 in Paerata and Great South Road in Drury (a distance of 6.85km)?
2(a). If any plans exist, and those plans include an estimate of the cost of building a new bridge, I would like to know the estimated cost.
2(b). If any plans exist, I would like to receive a copy of those plans if they can be released under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA).

Additionally, I would like to know:

3. Are there any plans to create a safe cycling route between Pukekohe and Papakura? The Sim Road bridge used to allow cyclists to take local roads with little traffic between Papakura and Pukekohe and avoid the main highways (SH-22 or Pukekohe East Road), which have very limited space for cyclists.

4. Auckland Transport has stated they wish to encourage the uptake of cycling in the Auckland Region (source: Auckland Transport Alignment Project (ATAP), 2016). If no safe cycling route exists between Pukekohe and Papakura, how does Auckland Transport expect the number of commuters cycling to work to increase in the area?

I look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully,
Kyle Hensel