Roads shaping as a hot election issue
THE GOVERNMENT HAS ANNOUNCED A $12BILLION infrastructure package, including $6.8bn worth of transport funding. Most of that will be spent on road and rail. But is it enough – and is it being spent in the right places?
While Kiwis have not always viewed transport and infrastructure as big priorities, that view is changing. Congestion, highways collapsing after severe weather, and alarm over road accidents are hard to ignore.
Critics have long slammed a lack of spending as highway robbery – harming the road transport industry and the wider economy.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has hailed the package as the biggest infrastructure spend in a generation. But the National Party Opposition says that the Labour-led Government’s decision to shelve National’s RoadsofNationalSignificance(RONS) was a bad idea – and now it has backtracked and is reviving some (but not all) of those projects.
Some projects, such as Transmission Gully and the Waikato Expressway, started under the previous government.
South Island mayors aren’t happy – and with good reason: The lion’s share of the new spending on roads ($5.3bn), will go to the North Island. And most of that ($3.48bn) to Auckland. The South Island will get only $249million.
While it makes sense to reduce congestion in New Zealand’s largest city, pouring more money into Auckland takes funding away from the rest of the country. Growing areas like Tasman, Waimakariri and Selwyn will miss out. There will be no four-laning of State Highway 1 between Christchurch and Ashburton and – unlike the North Island – no commuter rail links are being funded to reduce congestion caused by motorists.
The fragility of NZ’s highway network was dramatically underscored by extreme weather events last year, such as the storms that flooded the Rangitata River in Canterbury – closing SH1 and SH72 and cutting the main road transport link in the central South Island.
Think of that for a moment: The main road link in a developed OECD country reduced to a narrow bridge.
Storms on the West Coast took out part of SH7 and washed away a bridge. In the North Island, a big slip closed SH4, connecting
Whanganui and Raetihi.
More severe weather events this year are a certainty. We need better, more resilient roads.
Under the Government’s RoadtoZero strategy, we will see more median safety barriers and lower speed limits. Many agree that multi-lane highways would be better. International studies show that motorways have lower accident rates than rural highways.
Strangely, the NZ Transport Agency appears to view motorways as evil. One of the most bizarre examples arose last year when the agency released a new plan for Te Ahu a Turanga (the replacement for the closed route through the Manawatu Gorge), changing the central section to two lanes only. The agency said it wanted to remove the feeling the road was a motorway: “One lane each way through the plateau maintains rural feel and safety.”
Well, a sheep track feels rural. But it’s no good for trucks and cars. Following intense criticism and lobbying from groups including RTANZ and the Road Transport Forum, the agency reversed its decision. The highway will now be four lanes over the plateau.
It was a win-win, with all parties agreeing amicably: “We are delighted that our work with key stakeholders such as theAutomobile Association, Heavy Haulage and the Road Transport Association has achieved this positive outcome,” said NZ Transport Agency owner interface manager Lonnie Dalzell.
That positive outcome shows just what’s possible when associations work in a determined manner to support their members. Policies and decisions can change. However, it takes a lot of work, attending meetings and making submissions. It’s an ongoing battle.
One thing is certain: Unless members make their voices heard through their association, they won’t get the changes they want. Unless you get involved, there’s no point complaining. T&D