Promise on road project broken

BY BRUCE HOLLOWAY

The Waikato Expressway will not be completed anywhere near the 10-year window promised by the National Party as part of its 2008 election campaign, according to data tabled at Waikato's regional transport committee meeting yesterday.

But Transport Minister Steven Joyce told the Waikato Times this morning that a New Zealand Transport Agency projection that suggested the Hamilton bypass section of the expressway was not now scheduled for completion until 2024-25 was "not the final word" and was subject to change as the Government did all it could to complete the project within the planned timeframe.

In a presentation updating progress on major roading projects, the agency's regional highways and operations manager Kaye Clark provided information which revealed the Hamilton bypass section of the expressway was not now scheduled for completion until 2024-25, with construction not even starting until 2018-19.

That caught committee members by surprise, with chairman Norm Barker saying it was the first time members had been made aware that was the case.

In October 2008, the National Party promised an injection of $790 million extra funding to complete the expressway within 10 years if elected.

The Hamilton Bypass is the longest section of expressway, running 21km from Lake Rd, Horotiu, to just north of the Tamahere interchange. It is also the most expensive, estimated to cost between $550-$650 million.

Hamilton City Council transport committee chairman Dave Macpherson was concerned the new timeframe was six to seven years after the 10-year promise, with construction not even starting until the expiry of the original timeframe. "That is quite an extension," he said.

Ms Clark said that was how things stood under the agency's current funding regime.

Mr Joyce said the Hamilton bypass was "a challenging one" to complete but he didn't accept the agency's timetable as "final" and the Government would get as close as possible within the 10-year window.

"We have a plan at some point to get back within the 10-year window and there will be an update to get closer to that.

"We will have six of seven elements completed within the 10-year period. The seventh is a big challenge but we are determined to get there."

Mr Macpherson was alarmed that work on the expressway had just as suddenly been re-prioritised with the Huntly bypass now due to be constructed in advance of the Hamilton bypass.

Ms Clark said that was due to ministerial input and a desire to work from north to south on the project.

Mr Macpherson said that was alarming news for Hamilton because it would cause chaos on city roads. "If Huntly (bypass) happens first it we will have the problem of the entire North Island traffic coming through Hamilton west streets.

He later told the Times the sudden re-think without consultation made a mockery of existing structures. "The government agency comes up with a revised plan that dramatically changes the policy. We might as well say the minister and his department decide everything, and let's not waste our time with meetings and the sham of consultation."

Mr Macpherson was concerned that if Wairere Dr extensions were finished six years in advance of the expressway, Hamilton would have a "de facto state highway" through the east side of the city.

Matamata-Piako Mayor Hugh Vercoe suggested the committee reaffirm its stance that the Hamilton bypass should be completed in advance of the Huntly bypass.

- © Fairfax NZ News