Meetings about expressway route
Dozens of meetings will be held with landowners who will be affected by construction of the O¯ taki to north of Levin expressway.
Transport officials have picked their preferred route, which at 24.2 kilometres is shorter than other options and more accessible to urban areas.
It doesn’t deviate much from the existing State Highway 1 in the south and SH57 in the north.
The New Zealand Transport Agency said it was too early to reveal exact costings for the expressway or when construction would start, but had indicated previously the project would cost more than $100 million.
More than 360 homeowners in the shortlisted corridors received letters notifying them of the preferred route. Transport agency director of regional relationships Emma Speight said meetings were being offered to all homeowners within the preferred corridor and 84 had been scheduled so far.
Horowhenua mayor Michael Feyen was ‘‘pleased the decision is out’’ and that homeowners had clarity. He was happy the agency had made an effort to deliver letters to affected residents.
Feyen indicated land acquisition would still be two or three years away, and construction of the highway would start some time after that.
Horowhenua resident Mark Mees owns land on Manakau Heights Drive, which is within the preferred corridor. He is planning to start building a new house on the land just after Christmas, but his future home may be unaffected by the route, depending on where the road will be situated within the 300-metrewide corridor.
Mees praised officials for being ‘‘incredibly responsive’’, but said they were still unable to provide him with answers and certainty. At a meeting yesterday morning, Mees was told it would take two to three years to figure out the precise route, a timeframe he thinks is too long.
‘‘It doesn’t take Einstein to figure out where the road should go.’’
O¯ taki MP Nathan Guy believes the road could be five to 10 years away from opening.
‘‘I don’t get the sense of any urgency from the NZ Transport Agency,’’ he said.
Guy, who has advocated a four-lane highway, said the road should be four lanes from the start, instead of starting with two lanes and possibly expanding later.