Tararua District Council updated on new highway progress

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency owner interface manager Lonnie Dalzell and people and cultural manager Mark Long address Wednesday's meeting. Photo / Sue Emeny

Tararua District Council's works liaison committee was first in the region to hear a post Covid-19 update on the progress of Te Ahu a Turanga Manawatū Tararua Highway.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency owner interface manager Lonnie Dalzell and people and cultural manager Mark Long gave a presentation to Wednesday's meeting which included Dannevirke Community Board chairman Pat Walshe, Horizons regional councillor for Tararua Allan Benbow and Rangitāne o Tamaki Nui a Rua chairwoman Mavis Mullins.

Dalzell said he had already spent two and a half years on the project and was looking forward to the work beginning on the highway which was scheduled to be completed by December 2024.

An image of the eastern rural gateway to the Te Ahu a Turanga Manawatū Tararua Highway.

The designated route was confirmed in March and lodging of enabling works applications is under way on access tracks, water take and reservoirs, contaminated land and Te Āpiti wind farm tracks.

Resource consent applications were lodged in March and a two-week hearing is set to begin on August 24.

Ground investigations are under way and because the land is some of the most seismically active in the country Dalzell said more than 100 bore holes have been drilled to discover what exactly lies below the surface.

Dalzell said enabling works would start in October, subject to consent approval, and the main works would start in January.

Once the enabling works had been completed there would be multiple work fronts.

Dalzell said the purpose of the project was to create a safe, resilient efficient replacement for the closed State Highway 3 through the Manawatū Gorge.

"There were safety issues with the old road. The new road will be modern and safe with wire barriers. The bridges are all designed at a high level. There will be a guaranteed travel time. You know it will take 12 minutes to travel the highway."

He said most of the highway will be four lanes, only becoming two lanes at the roundabouts at each entrance.

In answer to a question, Dalzell said the speed limit would drop to 80 at the approach to each roundabout because they both lead into urban areas.

A shared path for cyclists and pedestrians will run the length of the highway and while is it not designed for horses and riders it will provide them with access.

Dalzell said where possible the shared path has been moved away from the road.

"When you look at our highways you see that head-on crashes are common so the wire barriers will run the entire length of the new road."

Other design features were an average gradient of 4.7 per cent with a maximum gradient of 10 per cent, three viewing areas, large cuts of up to 55m high, earthworks contained onsite and cultural design elements.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency owner interface manager Lonnie Dalzell and people and cultural manager Mark Long address Wednesday's meeting. Photo / Sue Emeny

"Ecological plantings will see the replanting of 40 to 50 hectares as well as riparian plantings."

He said Waka Kotahi was not just about transport, it also took into consideration ecological and cultural factors.

"The cultural element saw representatives nominated by iwi partners early on. This was a different approach for Waka Kotahi which has developed a new level of partnerships but with that comes compromises.

"This is the first time iwi have been incorporated on a government level, and a management level and embedded in the project."

Among the social outcomes the project would attain, the key achievement was to employ local people.

"We have a recruitment day planned to enable us to learn the capabilities of local people and to match those with the roles that we will have."

These recruitment days will be at the end of July in Dannevirke and Palmerston North or Feilding. Although construction experts would be brought in it was hoped that about 65 per cent of the workforce would be locals, equating to about 400 people.

"We don't want to put the local housing market under pressure so we are talking to developers in both Ashhurst and Woodville to provide housing both for the project and then for the community."

Dalzell said the two most common questions at public information sessions had asked when the road would be finished and why was it taking so long.

"The first question is easy to answer. We are committed to finishing in December 2024 and the team has worked hard to keep to that date.

"The second question is harder to answer, but I would love everybody to see how much work is involved."

Asked what he saw as the two biggest risks to slowing down the project, Dalzell cited events that were out of Waka Kotahi's control.

"Weather is a big one. If we lose two months through terrible weather it would be hard to get back on track.

"I would also have said the consent process was top of the list but I am feeling more comfortable about that now. Property was also a big issue but we are now in a much better space in that regards as well."

Asked whether the old gorge road would be decommissioned, Dalzell he was uncertain as to its future.

"That will be a separate business case. It is still a high-risk item with the number of people who are still using it but security fencing will be put in to restrict access."