Which projects missed the cut for funding?
A $6.8 billion transport splurge by the Government is good news for many but it has not pleased everybody.
There have been grumbles coming out of Canterbury, which received just 2 per cent of the share – a measly $159 million for a region with
13 per cent of the country’s population.
And while Wellington fared better than most, receiving one-fifth of the total spend over 10 years, there is a feeling among some the capital has also been snubbed.
That is mainly because the Government’s announcement made no mention of the $6.4b Let’s Get Wellington Moving transport programme, of which Wellington ratepayers will contribute 40 per cent.
It means state highway projects such as an extra Mt Victoria tunnel and a Basin Reserve bypass on State Highway 1 are, as yet, unaccounted for.
That has not pleased the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, which said the funding ‘‘barely made it past Hamilton’’.
‘‘As congestion continues to rise, it is really disappointing to see none of the urgently needed roading and public transport projects within Wellington City get attention,’’ chief executive John Milford said.
‘‘This is despite the Government’s talk of supporting our multi-billion-dollar Let’s Get Wellington Moving package that took over three years to put together. So now it is left to Wellington’s ratepayers to put their hands in their own pockets while government-funded projects elsewhere are prioritised.’’
Further north, Hutt Valley commuters received welcome news: a long-awaited interchange on SH2 at Melling will be built by 2026.
But even their wishlist was not entirely ticked off, with a proposed Petone-toGrenada highway slipping further into the transport abyss, and a link road between Seaview and SH2 no further advanced either.
That’s despite both projects being listed as priorities in a Wellington Lifelines Group report into the impact of a natural disaster on the capital’s economy.
The report recommended the $1b-plus Petone-to-Grenada highway be built by 2032, and the $65m Cross Valley Link be constructed by 2029.
Lower Hutt Mayor Campbell Barry accepted that the Petoneto-Grenada highway connecting the Hutt Valley and northern Wellington was probably too expensive.
However, Barry said he was working with Hutt City Council staff to put together a business case for the link road.
Barry said recently the road, which would connect Seaview on the eastern side of Hutt Valley to SH2 on the western side, was vital to improving the area’s resilience.
As yet, no cost or timeframe has been placed on the project.