NEWS

always planned to be open three years after Transmission Gully, because the existing SH58 is already struggling with the cross-traffic and there is a need to ease peak-time traffic on Ngauranga Gorge. This was also one of the roads listed as a priority in a Wellington Lifelines Group report into the impact of a natural disaster on Wellington’s economy.

“The East-West link in Auckland is necessary to ease congestion, with more than 7000 freight vehicles moving through Onehunga each day, causing gridlock.

“Economic analysis found the industrial area serviced by the East-West Link contributed more than $10bn to the national GDP. Auckland’s large and growing population requires a roading network to support the easier movement of freight to support people’s daily lives. At the end of the day, rail will never be a solution for these challenges.

“A four-lane highway between Selwyn and Timaru would connect people and freight between the food basket of South Canterbury and more populous markets to the north.

“NZ must invest mindfully for the recovery period we have ahead. Infrastructure projects provide an immediate economic stimulus, but the Government needs to carefully select projects that build and sustain increased economic activity and reduce reliance on the Government itself as the longterm salvation.

“Roading projects improve safety and allow us to play to our natural advantages as a food producer by making it easier to get our exports to market,” Leggett says.

T&D