Expressway off the agenda for Government
Recently the Government announced its new plan for transport and it’s a shocker — especially for the Horowhenua Expressway.
To make matters worse, petrol prices are skyrocketing around the country.
The Government’s three petrol tax increases are already being felt, and legislating the regional fuel tax so it can be rolled out across New Zealand in a few short years isn’t helping to keep a lid on these prices at the pump.
This is going to see the cost of living become even more expensive. It’s worth shopping around for competitive petrol prices and I use the Gaspy app which is very effective.
At the same time $5 billion is being cut from building regional roads. Instead that money will now shift to funding trams for Auckland.
In the meantime our region has to keep paying the fuel taxes to fund these trams, and sit and watch while the Horowhenua Expressway goes unfunded.
These changes are very damaging for transport infrastructure around the country.
When the Minister of Transport was directly asked in Parliament if they would be funding the expressway he dodged the question and talked about installing median barriers instead. This essentially confirmed to me that there is no money left in the kitty for the expressway.
When the Minister of Transport was directly asked in Parliament if they would be funding the expressway he dodged the question and talked about installing median barriers instead. This essentially confirmed to me that there is no money left in the kitty for the expressway.
This is immensely disappointing and is not fair on those whose lives have been on hold for too long while waiting for a decision.
Nationals Roads of National Significance policy was the cornerstone of our transport plan and was aimed at creating high quality and necessary roading like the Horowhenua Expressway. This policy led to the construction of the Kapiti Expressways which have proven to be a massive success. They have reduced congestion, improved road safety and have lifted productivity. People still stop me in the street and thank the National Government for building decent roads. It’s a shame we couldn’t finish the job. We all want and deserve certainty.