Stop or go? Bridge plans on hold
A new double-lane bridge at the edge of Blenheim thought to be in the bag, with work due to start any time soon, is now ‘‘subject to funding approval’’.
Construction of the new bridge next to Blenheim’s century-old O¯ paoa bridge, dubbed a ‘‘danger spot’’, was expected to start at the beginning of the year.
But money for the project, which was upped from $17.5 million to $21.3m late last year, promised by the previous government in January 2016, is no longer a given.
The news comes days after the Government put a $63m plan to colocate Blenheim’s two secondary schools under review. Funding for an irrigation scheme in Flaxbourne, in south Marlborough, was also canned this month.
New Zealand Transport Agency senior manager Chris Hunt said building the bridge would depend on what direction the Government Policy Statement took.
‘‘The Minister of Transport has released the draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on land transport, which sets out the government’s strategic direction as well as how the land transport system will be funded during the next 10 years,’’ Hunt said.
Hunt said the draft policy statement was open to public engagement until May 2. The final statement would be adopted by the Government by June 30.
The Ministry of Transport declined to comment.
The previous National Government invoked the Public Works Act to buy and lease the land required for the bridge, to be built on the western side of the existing ‘banana bridge’ built in 1917. The land was owned by Taurangabased Spinnaker Investments no 1 and leased by Blenheim Top 10 Holiday Park.
Holiday park owner Leon She had been in negotiations with the NZTA about compensation for disruption to his business, but conversations had since gone quiet.
‘‘We have been talking about that but it has been put on pause because of this new government,’’ he said.
The new bridge was expected to wipe out between 40 and 50 campsites, a real ‘‘blow to the business’’, She said.
‘‘It’s hard to make a decision, whether you want to make some improvements to the sites or whether you want to keep it as is,’’ he said.
Grove Park Motor Lodge owner Hamish Watson, whose business was next to the bridge, said delaying the project was ‘‘ridiculous’’.
‘‘If they don’t get going on the bridge soon there is going to be a terrible accident or there is going to be a pedestrian killed. It’s ridiculous having a bridge that narrow on State Highway 1.’’
Watson said he watched two trucks try and pass each other on the bridge this week and one of the trucks ‘‘scraped’’ its tanks along the barrier because the bridge was so narrow.
New Zealand Transport Forum chief executive Ken Shirley was ‘‘very concerned’’ the project had been put on hold as the bridge was a ‘‘serious safety risk’’ to road users.
‘‘It’s a real identified danger spot ... We are quite alarmed at all these projects that now seem to be on hold,’’ he said.
Grovetown man Terry Ford, an advocate for a bypass skirting the eastern side of Blenheim, was pleased to hear the project was subject to funding approval.
Ford thought a bypass would be a better solution to easing congestion issues than a new bridge. ‘‘I would like to see traffic flowing smoothly. A lot of people are not too comfortable with the trucks because they have got bigger and bigger.’’
Ford said a bypass would make life ‘‘a lot easier’’ for people and should be considered before putting in a bridge.
‘‘If they don’t get going on the bridge soon there is going to be a terrible accident.’’ Grove Park Motor Lodge owner Hamish Watson