Frustration over route decision delay
Residents potentially in the bulldozer’s path for the new O¯ taki to north of Levin highway want a fast decision made about the route so they can get on with life.
The new state highway was confirmed last week, but a preferred route is yet to be decided, leaving many people uncertain whether their properties will have to make way for the new road.
The potential new routes run east of Manakau, O¯ hau and Levin, and the twolane highway will form the third and final section of a new state highway route north of Wellington.
Manakau farmer Peter Staples is the fourth generation on his land and he was originally told the road was coming straight through his 100-hectare farm. But now he said he had no idea where the preferred route was because he hadn’t been told by roading officials.
His family were in the area when the original road and rail line were put in, which opened up the farm and made life easier.
‘‘It’s not a new thing for our family for this to happen,’’ Staples said. ‘‘You can’t stop progress.
‘‘I can see the actual good it will do to the area. I’d rather it hadn’t happened, but it’s a fact of life.’’
Even though his family’s 140-year-old homestead was in the firing line, he understood the road needed to be built, but he wanted it done quickly.
Staples said he was resilient, but other residents had put off decisions about their futures because they were in no-man’s land waiting for confirmation on the road.
‘‘There’s people down here thinking they may have to go into a retirement village. How do they make that transition if they don’t know what’s going on?’’
Staples said there was more at play than any individual person’s plans.
‘‘I can understand all that, but they don’t look at the big picture, they’re looking at themselves. We’ll get paid a reasonable payout.’’
Further north, Dave Bang and his wife Lynda have lived on Levin’s Arapaepae Rd for about 20 years.
Before the process for a new highway started, they had thought about moving into town, but had to sit tight for now.
‘‘We’re stuck because we can’t sell,’’ Bang said. ‘‘Even if we sold to a private
‘‘I can see the actual good it will do to the area. I’d rather it hadn’t happened, but it’s a fact of life.’’ Manakau farmer Peter Staples
person they will be in the same boat.
‘‘Is this a long-term investment or short-term? Simple things like maintenance around the house. How much money do we put in our patch? We’ve got some construction to do on the driveway and a few trees to get.’’
Bang said the important part was knowing the location of the new route, which would take up a 300-metre-wide strip, because it could still take years to build.
‘‘We expected to hear which route it was because there’s three routes going through here. Two of them take out our house and one goes past the back door.’’
Bill Hunt is nearing 80 and has lived on his property, north of O¯ taki, his entire life. He’s unhappy his future remains in limbo.
‘‘They keep saying we’re going to let you know by August, then the end of October. Now it’s December. They keep extending it.’’
New Zealand Transport Agency director of regional relationships Emma Speight wrote to affected residents and said a preferred route would be completed this year.
The highway will be two lanes, with future capacity for four lanes.
‘‘The construction, timing and form of this new route will depend on growth and funding priorities across the rest of the country.’’
Speight said, once the re-evaluations for all 12 corridors were complete in December, the agency would consider the plans and timing for the projects, including available funding.