Western Bay of Plenty District Mayor Garry Webber said the funding announcement was underwhelming. Photo / Andrew Warner
Western Bay of Plenty District Mayor Garry Webber said the funding announcement was underwhelming. Photo / Andrew Warner
Local leaders have been left frustrated by the Government's announcement of $1.4 billion in funding for road safety improvements over the next three years.
Local leaders and critics said State Highway 2 between Waihi and Tauranga needed more than mere safety improvements, and some said Tauranga was being sidelined in place of other regions.
Minister of Transport Phil Twyford and Associate Minister Julie Anne Genter announced that 870km of the country's state highways and local roads would be upgraded by 2021.
The plan prioritises high-volume, high-fatality routes in Auckland, Waikato and Canterbury in the first year.
It will also target the Bay of Plenty, though not as the highest priority. Areas for attention include the notorious stretches of SH2 from Waihi to Te Puna, SH2 from Wainui Road to Ōpōtiki, SH33 from Te Ngae Junction to Paengaroa, and SH29 from Piarere to Tauriko.
Improvements include adding median and side barriers, rumble strips and shoulder widening.
The announcement, however, has sparked frustration in the western Bay of Plenty.
National MP Todd Muller (left), Fix the Bloody Road campaigner Andrew Hollis (centre) and National MP Scott Simpson presenting a petition to change SH2 to parliament earlier this year. Photo / Supplied
Fix The Bloody Road SH2 campaigner Andrew Hollis said $1.4b sounded like a big sum but once it was distributed, regions would be left with the scraps.
Routes like Waihi to Tauranga "desperately" needed infrastructure investment and four lanes, he said.
Western Bay of Plenty District Mayor Garry Webber said the plan lacked detail and did not seem to address the most pertinent issue: SH2 Athenree to Tauranga.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council transport committee chairman Stuart Crosby supported the announcement but said it did not alleviate his main concern of how to cater to the exploding growth and traffic passing through the region.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council transport committee chairman Stuart Crosby. Photo / George Novak
Crosby said the proposed projects were shrouded in uncertainty and the regional council was seeking clarity.
Road Transport Forum chief executive Nick Leggett said the freight and local community would be disappointed the Tauranga to Katikati route was yet to be prioritised by the Government.
Leggett, who advocated for a four-lane highway, said the road was "one of the most dangerous in the country and is carrying ever-increasing traffic volumes".
Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller, of National, said the "completely inadequate" plan was a repeat of previous Government statements and that the fast-growing area had been left in limbo.
He said more "sticks and wires down the middle of the road" would not work and the road needed significant infrastructure investment.
Minister for Transport Phil Twyford. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Transport Minister Phil Twyford said the Government was "striking the right balance" of creating a transport network while also increasing road safety throughout the country.
In August, the Government announced it would spend $665m in the Bay of Plenty over the next three years on transport infrastructure.
He said that for $100m the Government could build 2km of four-lane expressway. For the same money, it was instead making urgent safety improvements to about 50km of road from Waihi to Omokoroa.
New Zealand Transport Agency safe network programme director Tim Crow said the state highway projects identified so far in the Bay of Plenty were in the early stage of development.
An additional 20 to 25 projects on local roads are still to be decided.
