Invercargill City Centre Streetscapes

Client

Bonisch, in partnership with Isthmus and our sub-consultant partners, has had the privilege of working with the Invercargill City Council (ICC) and its residents in their endeavour to cultivate a warm and welcoming city, working on the Invercargill City Centre Streets project, which forms part of the City Centre Master Plan (CCMP).

Bonisch’s relationship with the ICC is greatly valued, and we take pleasure in participating in projects that contribute to the improvement of the local community. In addition to this engagement, Bonisch is actively involved in various ICC projects, including infrastructure renewals, surveying, planning, drone operations, and project management.

Challenge

The City Centre Streets project’s first stage included the complete renovation of Invercargill’s two main central business district blocks on Esk Street and Don Street. The purpose was to create an attractive, interconnected environment that encourages people to linger, shop, discover, and participate in the city's life. The goal of the project was to promote pedestrian traffic throughout the city centre shifting away from a focus on parking directly in front of specific shops. The objective was to transform Esk Street into a pedestrian-friendly civic area while strengthening Don Street's entertainment focus.

Create

Bonisch was entrusted as the civil engineering lead for the project, which had an overall budget of approximately $20m. We worked in partnership with Isthmus (the landscape architect lead) with Bonisch responsible for the surveying, civil design, construction quality assurance, and Engineer to Contract components.

The project was ambitious, aiming to strike a balance between the community’s appreciation for open and spacious areas and the creation of communal spaces for daily use. The design also sought to foster a renewed relationship with the environment, resulting in a visually appealing and enjoyable urban area.

The engineering component required to support and enable the project was complex and varied. This included a water-sensitive urban design with custom rain gardens in both streets to treat stormwater runoff, associated sub-surface retaining walls, 3 waters infrastructure renewals, geometric design of the street to improve stormwater performance and pedestrian functionality with complete re-design of the surface contour, along with high amenity pavement design over soft ground conditions. In addition to the above, we delivered the full construction survey and setout to tight tolerances, with work tying into level threshold historical proposed new buildings, as well as Engineer to Contract services for the overall construction cost-reimbursement contract.

Solve

Despite the challenging timelines, Bonisch delivered high-quality outcomes and timely outcomes. Through our work on this project, we showcased our in-house expertise in delivering complex Engineering projects in partnership with our clients, and our network of supporting sub-consultants.

By spearheading the enhancement of two prominent streets as part of the City Centre Master Plan (CCMP), the southernmost city in New Zealand has successfully created a dynamic and interconnected environment that encourages individuals to linger, shop, discover, and actively engage in the vibrant life of Invercargill.

Project Details

Name of the project: Invercargill City Centre Streetscapes
Completed: April 2023 Opening
Location: Invercargill
Project value: $ 20 million
Project lead: Simon Collie, Engineering Divisional Manager
Project team: Brad Sayer, Nick Watt, Glen O’Connor, Brent Edgerton and Ethan Yeo