Cyclists and walkers were keen to use the long-awaited 5km section stretching from St Leonards to Port Chalmers, following the official opening by Transport Minister David Parker at Sawyers Bay this afternoon.
West Harbour resident Natalie Scott said her family would use the shared path - not only for cycling, but walking and skating.
"I think it's brilliant for the young people of West Harbour, it makes it easier and safer for them to move about."
Anne Marshall said it was "an exciting day for Port Chalmers" and as a keen walker, she was pleased to see the project come to fruition.
Self-described fair weather cyclist Mike Bufton said there was now no excuse not to cycle more.
There had been "so many" near-misses, and the pathway was a a safe alternative route to using State Highway 88 - a busy road and freight link between Dunedin and Port Chalmers.
The first stage of the pathway, now 10km long, was a route from Dunedin to St Leonards, opened some years ago.
Construction funding was approved in 2019 for the SH88 safety improvements, including building the last section of the highway's shared walking and cycling path between St Leonards and Port Chalmers.
Work started in early 2020 but was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
It features a 3m-wide well-lit shared walking path, fencing separating the path and main trunk rail line, safer links from the path to communities along this route, and the installation of side safety barriers at high-risk locations on the sections of SH88 between Maia and Port Chalmers.
