“It unlocks the region after seven years of restriction.”
The Manawatū Gorge was closed to through traffic in 2017, following two major slips that year, but it had been an issue for some years. In 2012 it was closed for about a year.
Bang explained to those who attended that they initially had 18 options for a new highway.
“We looked at all sorts of different routes we could take, from using the existing gorge, tidying it up and fixing things to the current one we’ve got.”
Other options had been a tunnel or a viaduct down the middle of the river and a cost-benefit analysis was done on each option.
Bang said the brief for the new highway was to be resilient and safe with a proviso to have a 12-minute reduction in travel time between Woodville and Palmerston North for light vehicles.
But the main social outcome was in how it would open up the Tararua District, for instance in those who were travelling between Palmerston North and the district on a daily basis.
“It’s such a hassle going through the Saddle [Road] at 60km and that sort of thing,” Bang said.
He noted that Tararua District could be a weekend destination as he’d seen a lot of motorcyclists and campers exploring the region.
“To me, the project is the key and the completion of the project is opening the door. And then it’s up to Tararua [District] to welcome people in the region.”
Phil Grant, who owns New Zealand Natural Clothing, told those present he looked at what the new highway would mean for local businesses.
“What does it mean for me?”
He said fuel costs would be one factor and he’d calculated that by saving 12 minutes on the drive, there would be a 20% saving in that cost.
“What are those commuters that live in Dannevirke going to do with that? Hopefully, they spend it locally rather than shooting back over the hill and spending in Palmerston North.”
Grant said there would also be the “sticky beakers” or those who wanted to see what the new highway was like.
Coming from Otaki, where he also had a shop until late last year, Grant said his home was now an hour from Wellington airport.
“The expressway and Transmission Gully are beautiful.”
He said the new highway would be “great”.
But it wasn’t just about the highway.
“It’s really about how we can get together and do our marketing together.”
Grant said he was happy to share some of the marketing tools he used for his business, talking about what he’d done for New Zealand Natural Clothing since becoming the owner in 2007.
He said a collaborative approach of sharing marketing might be a way to attract more traffic to local businesses, adding that the most effective advertising a business had was “somebody else telling somebody else”.
“We need to somehow get together. And I think the Chamber of Commerce is a great vessel for that.”
Leanne Warr has been editor of the Bush Telegraph since May 2023 and a journalist since 1996. She re-joined NZME in June 2021.
