Rain grinches delay expressway
Santa looks unlikely to deliver a $630 million road to the Wellington region for Christmas.
Despite hints that the southern section of the Kapiti expressway might be opened by the end of the year, it now looks probable that traffic congestion will continue for one more season.
Kapiti Coast district councillor Michael Scott said it had earlier been hoped that the road would be opened for several days on or about December 22.
But a month of heavy rain in November put paid to that, and ‘‘the best information I have’’ was that the opening date would now be about February 20, he said yesterday.
He also understood that two asphalt plants used by the expressway crews had been affected by the 7.8 magnitude Kaikoura earthquake, which had been the ‘‘last nail’’ in plans for a December finish.
But the main problem had been a November where there had not been a run of dry days. This was bad news for the district, as the opening couldn’t come soon enough, he said.
‘‘The expressway that we’ve all waited so long for, and looked forward to being opened before Christmas, is not going to be.’’
The planned December opening would not have been a free-for-all for motorists, but instead ‘‘a powhiri with a bit of a carnival and walks ... and then sometime the next night or day they would quietly open the barriers’’.
He said the agency was scared ‘‘every bugger with a car in Wellington would drive up to drive on it, and it would clog-stop’’.
Kapiti Mayor K Gurunathan said he was aware that the opening was likely to be in February, possibly around the middle of the month.
December was now out, and he understood it was because of the delays caused by the run of bad weather.
Work on the southern section, from McKays Crossing to Peka Peka, started in late 2013, and at one point was running ahead of its mid-2017 schedule.
NZTA confirmed two bitumen plants supplying the project were out of action for a week after the November 14 earthquake and the following day’s floods.
Spokeswoman Felicity Connell said the focus remained on ‘‘delivering the best possible asset to the community, as early as possible, without compromising quality or safety’’, but an opening date was not yet known.
‘‘We remain confident that the road will be safely completed and open to traffic well ahead of the originally scheduled completion date of June 2017.
‘‘As with any project of this size and complexity, an early completion does not come without challenges, but we are confident of meeting those, and completing the project well ahead of schedule.’’
Last month, Transport Minister Simon Bridges announced that Fletcher Construction had won the contract to build the $330m Peka Peka to Otaki section of the expressway, with work on the ground starting in mid-2017.
It would be the northernmost section of three projects running through the Kapiti Coast, starting with the $850m Transmission Gully project in the south, with McKays to Peka Peka making up the middle section.
Ferries sailing again
Interislander ferries are back in full operation in time for Christmas after November’s 7.8 magnitude earthquake damaged the loading link at CentrePort in Wellington. ‘‘This is great news and means the ferries are running normally for Christmas,’’ KiwiRail chief executive Peter Reidy said. ‘‘Having three ferries back in full operation gives our freight customers maximum flexibility and resilience and keeps tourists moving across the Strait in this busy Christmas period,’’ he said. KiwiRail is investigating a Wellington to Christchurch ferry service for freight and people as the repair to the broken lifeline of State Highway 1 is expected to take months and billions of dollars. Both the Wellington and the Picton passenger terminals are also fully operational. The first Aratere sailing carrying rail wagons left Wellington on Monday afternoon.
"The expressway that we've all waited so long for, and looked forward to being opened before Christmas, is not going to be." Kapiti Coast District councillor Michael Scott
Paua poachers caught
Fisheries officers have nabbed three groups of recreational divers with almost 400 illegally caught paua across the Wellington region. The biggest haul – 280 shellfish – was seized from three Whanganui divers at Plimmerton Beach on Saturday, along with the vehicle and dive gear used to catch them. Ministry for Primary Industries district compliance manager Mike Green said more than 40 fisheries officers had targeted recreational fishers in Wellington, Kapiti and Wairarapa, and were disappointed with what they found. ‘‘Our message is very clear: if you break the law, you’ll face the consequences.’’ More than 30 boats were boarded and inspected as officers spoke to more than 200 people.
Buzz’s doctor, Bowie
Buzz Aldrin is being cared for in Christchurch Hospital by one Dr David Bowie. Aldrin, the second man to walk on the surface of the moon, is recovering in hospital after he fell ill with fluid on his lungs during a trip to Antarctica. He managed to make it to the South Pole, and in doing so, the adventurous American became the oldest man to reach the southernmost point on Earth. Aldrin, who has thrown his weight behind research into a mission to Mars, is 86. It turns out the space pioneer is being treated by a doctor with the same name as the late legendary singer. Aldrin’s manager, Christina Korp, tweeted their thanks to Canterbury District Health Board doctor David Bowie and suggested the former astronaut could be given the all-clear in a day or two. ‘‘You can’t make this stuff up.’’