SH76 Brougham Street upgrade

16 July 2025

NZ Transport Agency board member Warwick Isaacs, Minister of Transport Hon Chris Bishop and Mayor of Christchurch Phil Mauger turn the first sod on the corner of Brougham Street and Collins Street.

Exciting changes ahead for Brougham Street as construction begins

Construction of the SH76 Brougham Street upgrade is now officially underway, following a sod-turning and blessing ceremony held today (Wednesday 16 July 2025). During the event, the Hon Chris Bishop Minister of Transport announced that Fulton Hogan has been appointed to build the first stage of the project.

Stage one of the SH76 Brougham Street upgrade includes the new pedestrian and cycle bridge over Brougham Street between Collins Street and Simeon Street and changes to the road layout. This long-anticipated addition will provide a safer, uninterrupted connection for people walking and biking across one of Christchurch’s busiest corridors.

The upgrade will make one of Christchurch’s busiest roads safer and more efficient. By making smart use of existing road space, improving traffic signal timing, and redesigning key parts of the corridor, we’ll help keep traffic moving while making it easier and safer for people to walk, cycle, bus, or drive. These changes will also support freight movement and reduce congestion, benefiting the whole community, our economy, and the environment.

More information on how we are staging of this project is available on the project website www.nzta.govt.nz/brougham

View of the bridge from Brougham Street looking east.

Updating the community: How we will build the bridge and keep you safe

With construction officially underway, one of our first priorities is to share how we’ll build the new pedestrian and cycle bridge, and how we’ll keep everyone safe throughout the process.

Whether you're crossing Brougham Street on foot or bike, or driving along it, safety is our top concern. We’ll work closely with Fulton Hogan to ensure all road users are keep safe and well informed as the project progresses.

We’ll be in touch with the community soon with more detailed information, including:

• Safety measures for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers.
• Temporary changes to road access and crossings.
• Construction timelines and milestones.
• How to stay informed and get involved.

Artist adds richness to bridge design following community feedback

The Brougham Street Project Team have worked with the local community on both the form and function of the Collins/Simeon pedestrian/cycle bridge. The community told us they wanted the bridge to not only improve safety but also to provide visual enrichment to the area.

Embedded into the bridge design and artwork is feedback received from the community and the Bridge Feedback Group, who represent a wide cross-section of the community as well as commuters and parents of primary and secondary school students who have to cross Brougham Street.

Following this feedback, we invited Lonnie Hutchinson, a leading multi-disciplinary artist to help us integrate artistic and cultural elements into the structure of the overbridge. 

About the artwork

The bridge artwork is inspired by the flora and fauna of the environment and influenced by the physical and emotional experience involved in walking or cycling across a suspended space. It strongly represents connections, including physical, social and environmental. The design includes translations of Māori taniko designs, Māori architecture and plant motifs.

The light pearlescent gold colour used on the bridge references the golden native grasses along many of our waterways, and creates visual softness against a busy environment. The strong red on the truss references Papatūānuku, the earth, and the red kokowai stone that is made into a pigment for painting or drawing. The roof of the bridge is made of steel sheets laser cut into patterns showing kawakawa leaf, a rongoā native plant that has healing properties. The glass paneled sides of the bridge are printed with a design that references harakeke, native grasses and a weaving pattern used specifically for outrigger sails.

Lonnie Hutchinson

About our artist

Lonnie Hutchinson (Ngāti kuri ki Ngāi Tahu, Samoan, Celtic) is a leading multi-disciplinary artist whose work is held in both private and public collections around Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally. She has created a number of public commissioned artworks around the country.

In Ōtautahi Christchurch her artwork representing a cloak of kakapo feathers is showcased on the facade of the Justice and Emergency Services Precinct parking building between Tuam and Lichfield Streets, and her more recent, Hana, greets visitors in the foyer of Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre.

Birdseye view of the Brougham Street bridge looking west.

Brougham Street looking south, with Collins Street in the foreground.

Brougham Street looking north, with Simeon Street in the foreground.

More information

For more information on the SH76 Brougham Street upgrade project, contact us at bm@nzta.govt.nz

Visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz/brougham