Highway war rages
MIKE BISHARA
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PUHOI to Wellsford highway construction is a political football.
At a parliamentary level it is regularly kicked about between the National and Labour parties, and in the second division by the Rodney District Council and the Auckland Regional Council.
In the latest exchange of crossfire, Rodney mayor Penny Webster says she is disappointed by "the Labour Party's continued lack of support for Puhoi-Wellsford highway".
That follows a speech last week by Labour's spokesman on transport and infrastructure Darren Hughes to the NZ Council of Infrastructure Development conference in Auckland.
Mr Hughes said he was in favour of all the government's roads of national significance, except the Puhoi to Wellsford highway which he said was overpriced.
"This upgrade is vital to our region's future and Labour's reluctance to support it is tantamount to neglect. It will be an important key to the future well-being of both the economy and people of the northern region," Mrs Webster says.
"Claims about costs for this highway upgrade being too high compared to other roading projects ignore the fact that it presents unique, geotechnical challenges that will need to be overcome," she says.
Mrs Webster says Labour's attitude on the Puhoi-Wellsford upgrade reinforced her view that Wellington-centric MPs need to familiarise themselves more with how their decisions can have such a negative impact on the regions and its people.
Still, Mr Hughes will find himself with an ally in the regional council transport and urban development committee, which "remains unconvinced of the need for a new motorway and is asking the NZTA to introduce more pressing safety improvements, and to consider wider traffic impacts when looking at access options for its planned state highway development".
Minister of Transport Steven Joyce reconfirmed last week the Puhoi to Wellsford section will be tolled. This means the New Zealand Transport Agency is obliged to provide an alternative free route. Logically, that would be the existing SH1, unless SH16 is brought into play as an alternative and SH1 forms the basis of the new highway.
"Increasing safety and reliability between Puhoi and Wellsford needs to be the NZTA's immediate priority, not a new motorway," says committee chairwoman and Rodney ARC representative Christine Rose. Mrs Rose's comments and the oft-quoted reference to the Puhoi-Wellsford section of SH1 as the "holiday highway" by ARC chairman Mike Lee have drawn a sharp response from Rodney MP Lockwood Smith, who has championed fast-tracking the motorway north.
"The people of Rodney will be pleased to see the last of the ARC and its negative attitude towards economic development in the district," he says.
"People in Rodney need to decide who they are going to elect to the Auckland Council and make sure they elect a candidate who will fight for the highway north and for Penlink.
"Both are crucial projects, not just for Rodney – the highway is essential for the northern economy and Penlink will open up greater Auckland development areas like Silverdale," he says.
Dr Smith says every time Mr Lee makes the remark about the "holiday highway" he demonstrates to the people how little he understands the north.
"Already, the timescale for the construction through to Wellsford is too long and there is a desperate need to reduce it," he says.
Dr Smith says more people travel between Puhoi and Warkworth daily than use the entire Auckland rail network.
The ARC says that if the NZTA continues its plans for the new motorway, it supports maintaining access to the communities of Puhoi, Mahurangi and Wellsford, and wider Rodney.
"However, we want to see more in-depth analysis from the NZTA before it commits to its new motorway," says Mrs Rose.
The committee is asking the transport agency to evaluate the planned motorway with bypasses at Warkworth and Wellsford, against selected safety and reliability improvements to the existing state highway.
"We are confident that immediate improvements can be made between Puhoi and Wellsford to enhance safety and reliability now, without the cost of building a new motorway," she says.
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