Matamata $50m bypass plan canned
A multi-million dollar Matamata bypass proposal has been canned.
In 2018, the Matamata-Piako District Council allocated funding in the long term plan to design and plan a bypass for the bustling tourist town.
The bypass – linking Waharoa Road East, State Highway 27, Tauranga Rd and State Highway 24 – was initially estimated to cost around $24m. This later jumped to approximately $50m.
It was hoped enough heavy vehicles travelling to the Port of Tauranga would be diverted from Matamata’s main street – Broadway. But traffic is due to drop anyway.
A recent report to council indicated truck use would drop between 20 and 30 per cent when the Waikato Expressway is complete. Other vehicle traffic would drop 10 per cent.
The bypass would attract less than
2000 vehicles per day and only reduce Matamata’s main street traffic by 15 to
20 per cent in 2041. It found the designation was not suitable or fit for purpose and all intersections in Matamata were operating at a ‘‘stable flow’’.
From a volume perspective, there was no need for a bypass now, or in the future, the report said.
Council’s group manager business support Manaia Te Wiata said even with future growth there won’t be enough traffic using the bypass to justify a $40-$50m investment. Council confirmed at a November council meeting it did not want to re-designate or designate the current zoned bypass in Matamata. It was the second bypass the council declined.
In May 2018, council decided not to proceed with a $40m Morrinsville bypass that would link Kuranui Rd to the intersection between Roache Rd and SH26 as it could not afford both bypasses within the same 30-year timeframe.
Council decided to investigate the Matamata options instead. At the time, council planned to fund a feasibility study and purchase land for the Matamata bypass in the next 10 years.
But council said it would await the completion of the Waikato Expressway to see if it alleviated pressure on Matamata’s roads.
No further work will be done on the Matamata bypass, but council ensures steps are in place to ease congestion, like the streetscape and Hetana St trial.