Bypasses in road corridor plan

BY PIERS FULLER

Bypasses around Carterton, Greytown and Masterton and a log transfer station at Waingawa are among several options being considered by Greater Wellington Regional Council for improving the Wairarapa road corridor through to the Hutt.

Wellington Regional Transport Committee is reviewing the plan for the corridor, which starts north of Te Marua, Upper Hutt, and follows State Highway 2 and the Wairarapa railway line through to north of Masterton. It also includes State Highway 53 and the local road and bus networks that support the state highways and rail corridor.

Chair of the regional transport committee, Fran Wilde, says the draft plan aims to improve road safety generally for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians; allows for significant increases in tourism and freight traffic and encourages sustainable transport choices such as walking and cycling, commuting by public transport, car pooling and telecommuting.

"A top priority for Wairarapa, as for the rest of the region, is to reduce the number of road accidents. The corridor plan includes a range of ongoing safety improvements on Rimutaka Hill Rd, including realignments and widening the slow vehicle lanes; replacement of the Waihenga Bridge on SH53 near Martinborough; the upgrade of the Opaki rail overbridge on SH2; and local road walking and cycling network improvements," says Ms Wilde.

Freight traffic in Wairarapa is expected to double over the next 20 years. The plan recognises a potential "wall of wood" in this corridor due to expected big increases in log production over the next 10 to 20 years.

The plan includes the development of a log transfer station at Waingawa to shift more log freight onto rail where possible, improvements to the intersection of Norfolk Rd and SH2 at Waingawa by 2015, and a second heavy vehicle bypass, east of Masterton, by 2016.

Ms Wilde says the plan provides for six more carriages to be added to the Wairarapa rolling stock, another review of bus services and the investigation of opportunities to increase park and ride facilities at Wairarapa railway stations.

"A more urgent priority, included in the plan, is for the regional transport committee to advocate to KiwiRail that newer locomotives be used for passenger trains on the Wairarapa Line. Successive locomotive breakdowns have diminished some of the substantial improvements that were made with the introduction of a fleet of new carriages in 2007. Travelling on the Wairarapa Line is a far more comfortable experience now than it was a few years ago but reliability is equally important. Otherwise, commuters will choose their cars over the train, thus increasing peak-hour congestion and pollution."

The draft plan's longer term measures  those beyond the next 10 years  include investigation of the feasibility of shuttle services between Masterton and Upper Hutt and upgrading the Rimutaka Hill Rd.

Submissions close on Friday, March 12.

- Wairarapa News