A wall built to remember those killed in the Christchurch February 22 earthquake will fall short of its original plans.
The 185 names will be inscribed on a curved marble wall that's now 40 metres shorter than first thought. Red Maple trees will also now replace the Japanese Cherry Blossoms.
This means the wall will now be 110 metres rather than the 150 metres originally planned.
"It's basically the same length," Christchurch Central Development Unit development director Rob Kerr says.
"The design itself wasn't of a particular length, so we need to make sure that it obviously met budget but that it was the right size for the site."
The choice of trees changed because the location is low to the water and not ideal for cherry trees.
Work on the north bank was completed in time for this year's February 22 commemorations.
"The day before we had a really lovely time with bereaved families who came and did a lot of the planting and took the ownership of that site which is really nice," Mr Kerr says.
"A lot of people during the day and afterwards on the Monday [of] the 22nd came and spent some time there. So it's starting to become an important place for people."
The memorial will cost $11 million. It is due to be completed in time for next year's commemorations so the official ceremony can be held at the site.
Newshub.
