National candidate Tim Costley at the controls in the Tara Ika development in Levin. Photo / Janine Baalbergen
National candidate Tim Costley at the controls in the Tara Ika development in Levin. Photo / Janine Baalbergen
National’s spokesman for transport was in Levin this week to have a look at the Tara Ika development and Simeon Brown took the opportunity to do a bit of digger driving.
Tim Costley, National’s candidate for the Ōtaki electorate said: “He’s building the road.”
Though for work on the Horowhenua Expressway, he was clearly a few hundred metres off the mark.
Brown said National is building the Ōtaki to north of Levin highway (Ō2NL), no matter the cost, even if it goes up to $3 billion, “but it will not cost that much”.
Simeon Brown at the controls of a digger. Photo / Janine Baalbergen
The basic groundwork is being done at Tara Ika by Goodmans, who have found the topsoil is full of rocks, so they have employed diggers as well as a machine that sifts the soil.
As a result, piles of rocks have been appearing around the property. Other finds include kilometres of fencing wire and defunct council pipelines. Roads can already be seen, and near Queen Street West, a few pads have been marked out for houses.
Goodmans are based in Waikanae and have been moving dirt around the region since the early 1960s. They have worked on Transmission Gully, the Whirokino south passing lane, the Tararua Windfarm, capping the Levin landfill, stopbanks, the Peka Peka to Ōtaki Expressway rail works, the Masonic Village development and the Manawatū Gorge Rd. They also have a crew working in Hawke’s Bay.
Progress on the Tara Ika development. Photo / Janine Baalbergen
They expect the first houses to go up next year. Once the groundwork is done, the land is ready for all the services to be put in, such as water pipes for wastewater. A wetland will go in near Queen Street East and elsewhere to deal with stormwater. The area will eventually have 2,500 homes, a shopping centre, and a school.
A recent NZ Herald article, based on documents obtained via an Official Information Act request, suggests that the current budget will be insufficient and the project will need to be trimmed back to stay within the available $1.5b.
In a briefing note, transport officials recommended a staged alternative, meaning a four-lane expressway to south of Levin. Other trimming options suggested include only building the southbound section. Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency is against a staged approach and trimming it back and suggests deferring it until enough money can be found, according to the document.
National candidate Tim Costley in a digger at the Tara Ika development in Levin. Photo / Janine Baalbergen
The briefing said costs for all roading projects are under pressure, not just those relating to Ō2NL, with escalation going up much faster than anticipated a few years ago. Transport Minister David Parker has told the Herald that funding for the Horowhenua Expressway will be provided as needed.
The revelation is once again pouring salt into the wounds of locals, who have been waiting for the expressway for years. The current road, the only connection south, is one of the deadliest in the country, which is why the new road eventually got the go-ahead.
The dithering on the Horowhenua Expressway is providing fodder for the election campaign, with the general election only six weeks away.
For National, the road ahead is clear: Ō2NL must be built, and as soon as possible.
“We will build it,” Brown said.
Both he and Costley had a go at operating the digger successfully, with expert help at hand, of course, tryshowing to show their determination to get this project done.
