Tararua District Mayor Tracey Collis is "wild" over the proposed toll for Te Ahu a Turanga Manawatū-Tararua Highway. She gave an impassioned speech at the public meeting in Woodville to discuss the proposal and encouraged people to make submissions.
Tararua District Mayor Tracey Collis is "wild" over the proposed toll for Te Ahu a Turanga Manawatū-Tararua Highway. She gave an impassioned speech at the public meeting in Woodville to discuss the proposal and encouraged people to make submissions.
Should the proposed toll go ahead on Te Ahu a Turanga, a large number of residents who regularly drive from the Tararua District may continue to use either the Saddle Rd or the Pahīatua Track.
But neither road is considered safe by residents, who spoke up at a public meeting in Woodville last week on the proposal to toll the Manawatū-Tararua Highway, which is about nine months away from completion.
There were an estimated 500 who came along to the public meeting to discuss the toll proposal.
Around 500 were estimated to have attended the meeting with a number of people asking questions of speakers including Linda Stewart, director of regional relationships for NZ Transport Agency/Waka Kotahi, and Tararua District Mayor Tracey Collis.
The meeting was also attended by councillors and the mayor of Palmerston North City Council as well as MPs Mike Butterick, Kieran McAnulty and Tangi Utikere.
Collis, in an impassioned speech, spoke at length on the background to the construction of Te Ahu a Turanga, following the permanent closure of the Manawatū Gorge in 2017.
One of the slips that led to the permanent closure of the Manawatū Gorge.
“The pain was felt immediately by our communities and businesses, and it has persisted.”
She said people “soldiered on” while the replacement highway was planned and designed and consultation took place.
“There was no mention of tolling at any point and I attended every meeting in the towns of Woodville, Dannevirke and Pahīatua.”
Collis described the project as a “road of great hope”.
She said there was genuine partnership with local iwi and other stakeholders.
“Te Ahu a Turanga, Manawatū-Tararua Highway was built on trust and relationships that were nurtured over time.
“Communities and councils on both sides of the ranges were in full support. We all worked together for the shared vision of a safe and resilient route that promised to unlock the economic potential of the region, as well as uplifting our local economy through a locals first approach to jobs and procurement.”
Then came the announcement of the tolling proposal and with it “an overwhelming sense of betrayal, anger, disbelief and a kick in the guts for our community”.
At a proposed $4.30 per trip for light vehicles and $8.60 for heavy vehicles, it would be the highest in the country.
Collis said the timing of the proposal threatened to negate the economic benefits of the project and permanently handicap the Tararua District.
For those on low wages and commuting daily between Manawatū and Tararua District it would likely cost close to 8% of their take-home pay.
The Saddle Rd (pictured long before it became a regular route between Ashhurst and Woodville) is considered unsafe by Tararua District residents.
Or they would have to take their chances on either the Saddle Rd or the Pahīatua Track.
The cost of maintaining the Saddle Rd was around $1 million a year.
“We know from what the community has been saying that the estimate for how many people will choose to still drive the Saddle Rd, if the toll was introduced, is far higher than what NZTA has estimated in the consultation document.
“Our council does not have the money to maintain the Saddle Rd with the kind of traffic we expect to see continue if the highway is tolled.”
The Eco-Viaduct bridge at one stage of construction at Te Ahu a Turanga: Manawatū-Tararua highway. It was meant to be the jewel in our region's crown, says Mayor Tracey Collis.
Collis said with a toll in place, the highway that was meant to be “the jewel in our region’s crown” would sit quietly.
She said it was supposed to be an asset for locals and a drawcard for visitors and the future of how partnership could create sustainable infrastructure.
“My heart was broken when we lost the road through the Manawatū Gorge. Our connection to our maunga, the Ruahine and the Tararua ranges, our awa, the Manawatū River. And today I’m not heartbroken. I am simply wild.”
Linda Stewart from NZTA answered many questions from Tararua District residents.
One resident asked Stewart if NZTA would upgrade the Saddle before they tolled the road.
“For all the ones here that can’t afford the toll, upgrade the Saddle Rd so we can safely travel over that road.”
She said there were potholes and some of the road was falling away, making it unsafe and there had been a number of accidents in the past seven years where vehicles had gone over a cliff, requiring volunteer fire safety crews to go “up there every week”.
Stewart said the Saddle Rd and the Pahīatua Track were currently under the management of NZTA but once the new road opened, they would be returned to the council.
“It is their asset.”
She said there would be a handover process and they would work with the council to see what level of service was required from both of the roads and what needed to be invested to provide a good level of service to those who continued to use them.
Collis said NZTA had taken over the roads following the closure of the gorge because of the large maintenance bill that couldn’t be met by the residents of Tararua District.
