The team at Isaac Construction have been working with us to develop a construction timeline that will complete the infrastructure upgrade for the Bridge to Better project as quickly as possible, while keeping disruption to local businesses and residents to a minimum.

A key part to minimising disruption is to avoid working over the City Centre shutdown period (mid December to end of January). To help avoid any overlap with the shutdown planned for 2027, we're aiming to get some of the early work done before Christmas this year. This pre-work includes:

• Laneway upgrades (September 2025 to December 2025) – the laneways from the carparks onto Bridge Street are being upgraded and made one way. The laneway from Montgomery Square will exit onto Bridge Street, and Alma Street will be entry only into Buxton Square. This will provide improved access from the parking squares onto Bridge Street so pedestrians will have better access during construction.
• Rutherford Street infrastructure upgrade – (September 2025 to January 2026) - installing the gravity sewer pipe (up to 5 metres deep) from Bridge Street through to Halifax Street/Paru Paru Road intersection. Note: two lanes of traffic along Rutherford Street will be open during this work.
• Brick-lined sewer (Mid-October to November 2025) – Beneath the road between Trafalgar Street and Collingwood Street lies a brick-lined sewer, built way back in 1867. We are repurposing this pipe to be a stormwater pipe, instead of having to protect an unused pipe under the street. To do this we are putting a UV sleeve inside the pipe which will harden like concrete. We need to install some additional manholes to allow us to do this, which will require us to close this section of road (as the pipe is located in the middle of the road). Doing this early will allow us to have this pipe stable before other digging occurs on the street.
• High voltage cable installation (November 2025) - Nelson Electricity is working with us to install a high voltage cable along Haven Road, down Bridge Street to Alma Street. The new cable will be positioned away from the new pipes, so that there will be no interruption of power when pipe installation begins on Haven Road and Bridge Street in February 2026.

The proposed construction for the entire project can be seen here.

The timeline highlights when road closures could occur over the project (Please note that the timeline gives an approximate guideline of time, as works may straddle a month). We wanted to give you an idea of what the project could look like in terms of duration so you can take this into consideration. Timing may change if work is completed faster, or if factors like weather delay certain stages.

With our timing we have also had to factor in the other work around the city centre, including the Nelson Bus Hub, St Vincent Street Culvert, Paru Paru Road carpark, the Whakatu Playspace and the Paru Paru Road Pumpstation. This proposed timing reduces the chance of significant traffic disruption while all these projects are underway.

Meet Ged

Isaac Construction has appointed a Stakeholder Manager (Ged Casey) who will be a key contact as the project progresses. Ged will be able to share with you what is happening and when, and will be the first port of call should you have any questions during construction (such as how to get deliveries if roads are closed etc.)

Ged’s joined us from Dunedin, where he worked closely with stakeholders on the George Street project—so he brings plenty of experience in keeping communication clear and relationships strong.

Ged will be out on the streets in the coming weeks, and will happily pop in to have a chat with businesses or property owners. Alternatively if you would like to book a meeting, then simply email us on BridgetoBetter@ncc.govt.nz.

What will the street look like?

We’ve shared a lot of information with you all, but we realise it is hard to understand what the street will look like when it is complete. Our design partners have put together the below images so you can see what it will look like.