Expressway plan grinds to halt

The O¯ taki to north of Levin expressway won’t be built any time soon, as a roading official confirms there is no funding for the longawaited project.

Despite the New Zealand Transport Agency announcing a preferred indicative corridor for the expressway in December, it is saying there may not be funding available to even figure out the final route of the road until after 2024.

Transport agency director of regional relationships Emma Speight said there was no funding available to determine the exact route of the expressway. She was unable to say whether money would be tagged to the project in the next national land transport programme, covering 2021 to 2024.

‘‘There has been a reduction in overall state highway funding for the 2018-21 period, with further reductions in the years beyond that period,’’ she said.

Now it has been confirmed there is no concrete timeline for planning or building the expressway, blueberry farm owner Antony Young said the uncertainty was leaving business and homeowners feeling more paralysed by the project than ever. ‘‘Now they’ve drawn the map, we’re stuck because we have no firm date we’re working to.’’

Young’s Noho Blueberry Farm, north of Levin, sits within the 300-metre-wide corridor, but he is still uncertain whether the road will go through his property. He said agency officials last visited him in December and he was told the final route of the expressway would be decided this year.

‘‘They can’t even do the initial designation work, no matter the building.’’

Road Transport Forum chief executive Nick Leggett said funding for highways was a political decision and it was up to the Government to lobby for the road. He said Transport Minister Phil Twyford should visit Horowhenua to hear the concerns. ‘‘He needs to meet with the community and sense the uncertainty like I’ve sensed the uncertainty.’’ Leggett described the section of the road as the ‘‘missing link’’ in a series of highways throughout the lower North Island and said delaying funding was putting motorists at risk.

The expressway was one of several highway projects the Government had delayed, Leggett said.

Horowhenua mayor Michael Feyen said he would continue to campaign for a regular commuter train to Wellington from Levin as a way to alleviate pressure on the region’s roads.

If the agency didn’t make safety improvements between O¯ taki and Levin, it should be held accountable for serious injuries or fatalities that occurred there, he said.

Speight said the agency was still looking to get funding from the $1.4 billion safe network programme for safety improvements on the existing highway.

‘‘There has been a reduction in overall state highway funding for the 2018-21 period, with further reductions in the years beyond.’’ Emma Speight, New Zealand Transport Agency