Billion-dollar restart for roading projects

Planning is under way to restart significant roading projects such as Transmission Gully, untouched since lockdown.

However, questions remain about whether there are even enough staff left in New Zealand to complete them – or when they might now be finished.

Last week, the Government released a broad-stroke outline of what could happen when the nation steps down to level three restrictions: allowing construction work with health, safety and distancing controls.

New Zealand Transport Agency senior manager Andrew Thackwray said staff were developing plans for restarting work nationwide on its highway project sites.

Billions-worth of highway projects around New Zealand – including the long sought-after Transmission Gully – were shut down during alert level four.

Thackwray said the planning, in tandem with the Government, covered how work would restart during different alert levels, while following coronavirus restrictions and protections for workers and road users.

It was too early to say when work might resume on specific capital projects or non-essential highway maintenance activity, he said, before the

Government announced level four would end on April 27.

The agency did not answer questions on whether sufficient staff were even available to work on Transmission Gully once it was allowed to restart. It could not say what effect the delay would have on planned penalties, including a $10m penalty if the road was not opened by December 18.

As previously reported by Stuff ,a Transmission Gully contractor, who did not wish to be named, said work was likely to be delayed even before lockdown because staff were leaving ‘‘in droves’’. Many Australian staff due to return from their days off decided to quit rather than be stuck in New Zealand.

Thackwray said the level four shutdown ‘‘and other effects of Covid-19’’ would likely have an impact on the completion dates for many projects.

‘‘But it is too early to say what the impact may be for individual projects.’’

About $1.3b worth of roading work was under way on State Highway 1 in the Wellington region – split between the billion-dollar Transmission Gully project and the northern section of the Ka¯ piti expressway.

The Peka Peka to O¯ taki section of the expressway was initially expected to open this year but is now planned to open early next year.

Transmission Gully was initially expected to open this month – then was planned to open by November.