Flooding on Waiteitei Rd near Mangawhai Rd on February 26, this year. Northland’s roads need around $185.5 million of Government funding to repair storm damage - it didn’t get it in Thursday’s Budget.
Flooding on Waiteitei Rd near Mangawhai Rd on February 26, this year. Northland’s roads need around $185.5 million of Government funding to repair storm damage - it didn’t get it in Thursday’s Budget.
The devil’s in the detail - and Northland’s local body leaders want to know more about how much funding they’ll get for storm-damaged roading repairs from Thursday’s Budget. But one thing is clear - it won’t be enough to meet the $185.5 million needed.
Ahead of the Budget, Northland’s local body leaders said they wanted the Government to front up with that amount immediately to repair and upgrade the region’s storm and cyclone-damaged roads.
A new report by the Northland Transportation Alliance (NTA) - made up of the Whangārei, Far North and Kaipara District Councils, Northland Regional Council and Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency and outlining how much damage had been done to the region’s roads by adverse weather conditions - was to be presented to Treasury officials in Kaikohe last week. But, ironically, the meeting had to be put off due to... adverse weather.
One of the slips caused by atrocious weather that have forced the closure of State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge.
The NTA report says Northland needs $107.5m for immediate resilience, safety and capacity improvements for the main Brynderwyn detours; $36m over three years for repairs of 116 of 1126 historic slips; $25m for drainage improvements across 3,391 kilometres of unsealed roads and $17m for supplementary Emergency Works Financial Assistance. On top of that, the region’s economy takes a $1m hit for every day SH1 over the Brynderwyns is closed. NTA also wanted confirmation of funding to Waka Kotahi to progress the business case for a new State Highway 1 Brynderwyns Expressway and completion of the committed $100m programmes to reinstate SH1 Mangamuka Gorge and its detour routes.
Thursday’s Budget delivered a number of packages for roading repairs and rural resilience, but Whangārei Mayor Vince Cocurullo said while the devil is always in the details with Budgets, it was pretty clear the region would not get the $185.5m needed.
“The severe weather events of this year have highlighted how crucial it is to invest in early preventative works to protect our transport network,” Transport Minister Michael Wood said in announcing the funding.
He said a $279 million investment package for state highways will focus on slip prevention, flood mitigation and managing the risk of sea level rise. Waka Kotahi have worked with local communities to identify the highest-risk areas.
The Government is also creating the Transport Resilience Fund - $20 million in support to projects each year - to support councils to develop and fund resilience upgrades on local roads.
A slip on Shoemaker Rd, Waipū after Cyclone Gabrielle.
Cocurullo said there was some good things in the Budget for Northland, but what has been announced so far would not scratch the surface of the region’s pothole-marked and slip-ravaged roads.
“They’ve increased the Financial Assistance Requirements, which is the percentage of roading costs we get from the Government for road maintenance. For Whangārei, this means the [Government contribution] increases from 53 per cent to 93 per cent, and for Kaipara and the Far North, it goes to 100 per cent funding,” he said.
“That’s great and means the Far North and Kaipara will get that work done for free, while in Whangārei, we’ll have to contribute some money, but it’s good to get that now while we are doing our Annual Plans.”
Regarding the $20m a year Transport Resilience Fund for councils across the country, Cocurullo said Northland would gobble that up in less than six months by itself, never mind the rest of the country.
