It’s time for our transport bureaucracy to deliver results
Irecently heard former British member of Parliament and minister Rory Stewart discussing the challenges of getting things done in Government. He commented that it’s not just about setting budgets and direction. Given you have no management powers, you have to work with civil servants to convince them it is in their best interests to actually implement your policy.
In August of 2018, I wrote to then-transport minister Phil Twyford, expressing my concerns about the safety and condition of the state highway network around the New Plymouth district and in particular about the lack of progress addressing the risks between Waitara and Bell Block.
Included in the letter was the following quote.
“While I acknowledge the NZ Transport Agency [NZTA] have done some good work talking to our community, socialising ideas and communicating, where they have fallen down is in demonstrating a sense of urgency, making final decisions and getting the diggers rolling.”
How little things have changed.
At the time, I pointed out that in the previous decade 14 people had died on the 12km stretch of road, which includes 12 uncontrolled intersections, three of which are among the country's 100 most dangerous.
Three months later, Twyford flew in to Taranaki, and announced $29 million in safety improvements that would be completed within three years. Just let that sink in. Estimated date of completion: November 2021.
The minister advised the work would include roundabouts, a new right-turn pocket on SH3 into Wills Rd, an extension of the right-turn pocket into Corbett Rd, and SH3 widening between Wills/corbett and Mahoetahi Rd, with wire rope safety barriers and passing lanes.
We went back to NZTA and pushed for more roundabouts and a flyover for Airport Drive.
We asked for a 50-year solution for our district and pointed out the half a billion dollars in fuel tax and road user charges that had been syphoned out of Taranaki to pay for projects like Transmission Gully and Auckland’s Northern Gateway.
After battling, we ended up securing $82m for the installation of four roundabouts: Princess St, Waitara Rd, SH3A and Airport Drive with related safety works.
We didn’t get a 50-year solution, no flyover for Airport Drive and no doublelaning despite our significant growth in traffic volumes. Once again NZTA knew best and low-balled Taranaki but this sad saga of systemic underinvestment doesn’t end there.
Substantive works took until March 2023 to get under way, four and a half years after the minister’s announcement.
To describe NZTA’S pace as glacial would be exaggerating, given the speed at which many of the world's glaciers are now moving.
While Twyford was subsequently replaced by Michael Wood, David Parker and more recently Simeon Brown, the bureaucracy responsible for non-delivery in Taranaki continues largely intact.
So here we are in May 2024 and I was horrified to read NZTA’S latest timeline for delivery of this project – works are not expected to be completed on the last two roundabouts at Airport Drive and SH3A until 2026 … maybe.
Just to give some context – the 27km brand new Transmission Gully project was built between 2014 and 2022, the same amount of time between Twyford’s announcement and the current estimated time for completion – for four roundabouts and some relatively minor works on an existing road.
I use the word “estimated” because the timeline comes with the following proviso: This timeline is dependent on a variety of factors, including land acquisition, consents, weather and ground conditions.
That is bureaucratic code for “we know we have been told to do this, we know the money is available, but we will not be held to a deadline by anyone, minister, MP, mayor, council or member of the public.” It’s simply not good enough.
NZTA has buried itself in process, known as business casing, to deliberately slow down investment because it lacks the money to complete the works various administrations have committed to over the years.
The funds have been signed off for these projects but the way NZTA drags out implementation actually drives up costs.
As an example, land values and construction costs have soared in the time since Twyford’s announcement, but NZTA refused to purchase land for these projects early to reduce costs, insisting on going through multiple iterations of expensive designs for every possible option for each roundabout, spending millions on paperwork before finally choosing a preferred option and only then buying land.
Land costs go up. Millions in drawings go into the bin. Road construction costs have increased by close to 50% since 2018 and the community waits.
I have been advised more than 20 sets of different drawings were considered for the Princess St roundabout. And, from what I understand, not one of them was the 50-year double-lane solution we advocated for from the start to protect our people and future proof our city’s northern gateway.
And remember Twyford’s promise of safety enhancements around Wills Rd, Corbett Rd and Mahoetahi? Well, the reality is we might remember them because they mattered to us and to the minister of the day but reflect on Stewart’s lesson.
These works have conveniently been forgotten by NZTA, perhaps unconvinced the minister’s direction was one worth following.
So here are my simple questions for NZTA.
Is this your best work?
What help do you need to speed things up?
If it takes nine years to deliver four roundabouts, how the hell are you going to deliver 15 roads of national significance?
If the problem is funding, I am happy to take a proposal to my colleagues to lend you the money, on commercial terms of course.
It's imperative that NZTA shifts gears and prioritises project delivery, recognising the tangible impact on lives and livelihoods. The time for bureaucratic inertia has long passed; it's time to deliver results.