Warning given over Eastern Link toll road

The $450 million Eastern Link toll road risks becoming the country's version of Tauranga's controversial Route K if a major interchange connecting into Papamoa East is not brought forward, developers say.

The warning that the Eastern Link could end up being a drain on the Government was delivered yesterday by Jeff Fletcher, representing the developers of Papamoa's 368-hectare Wairakei subdivision.

"You could probably write the script - they will undercollect," he told a city council workshop on the implications on tolls when the Eastern Link was completed in about five years.

Mr Fletcher was highlighting the impact of delaying construction of the $25 million interchange until 2025, to coincide with when Wairakei was expected to have become 80 per cent full. He said that by then inflation would have added $10 million to the cost to build the interchange which will also link into the planned Te Tumu subdivision.

The city council is planning for the development of a satellite city at Papamoa East down to the Kaituna river, starting with Wairakei's 12,500 residents.

Mr Fletcher argued that because there would be little access on to the Eastern Link, the Papamoa East interchange was needed sooner to attract more motorists to use the toll road.

He said it was purely a timing issue. If construction of the interchange was not brought forward, it would probably never happen and the Eastern Link would become another Route K, with not enough vehicles using the road to repay the portion of costs funded by tolls.

Developers want the cost of the interchange to be met by the New Zealand Transport Agency, rather than most costs falling on development impact fees paid by section buyers. He said the current approach was not financially sustainable for Papamoa's eastern growth areas. It would not stack up in the long term because of the impact on development fees from the interchange and the widening of Tara Rd.

Mr Fletcher predicted that the undercollection of tolls would eventually result in a second tolls gantry being built at the Domain Rd end of the Eastern Link, meaning that future residents of Wairakei could end up paying twice - once through their development fees and once through tolls.

"If we are not seen as the squeaky wheel we will not get to where we want to be. This is a big issue so let's start having discussions as soon as possible."

His final prediction that the Eastern Link would be so under-utilised that even jaywalkers would not get hit goaded Mayor Stuart Crosby to declare: "That is rubbish."

Mr Crosby said the new road would pick up the Central North Island traffic heading to the port, solved safety issues for Te Puke and had lots of other benefits that did not relate to Wairakei and Te Tumu. It would have a massive economic importance to the road transport industry by getting trucks to the port quicker.

The urbanisation of Papamoa East was a secondary benefit of the Tauranga Eastern Link, he said.

Mr Crosby disclosed that the funding of state highway interchanges with local roads was on the agenda of a newly established North Island Strategic Alliance whose members were the Northland Regional Council, Auckland City, Waikato Regional Council, Hamilton City, Tauranga City and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. The alliance would also be talking to the Government on issues involving rail, the ports and tourism and events.