Highway critics fear for area's beauty

By STUART DYE

Campaigners against the controversial eastern highway are calling on the Government to intervene before local politicians commit "environmental suicide."

The cost of the project has spiralled to as much as $2.9 billion, say consultants Opus.

The original study set the cost at around $460 million.

A secret report, obtained by the Herald last week, reveals that hundreds more homes could be affected by five new options for the route.

Stop the Eastern Motorway campaigners say proponents of the plan are blinded by their own election promises.

They say the original study, by Eastdor, suggests the highway would take just 569 cars off the Southern Motorway at peak times.

Stem executive officer Richard Lewis is inviting Transport Minister Paul Swain to join him for a 24-minute round trip from Britomart to Meadowbank and back to see first-hand the natural beauty of the area and understand its conservation status.

The group is also planning a round of protest initiatives, inspired by the lyrics of the Joni Mitchell song Big Yellow Taxi: "You don't know what you've got till it's gone. They paved paradise and put up a parking lot."

Meanwhile, the new Puhinui interchange on State Highway 20 at Manukau becomes fully open to all traffic from tomorrow.

The interchange is the first step to joining the Southwestern Motorway (State Highway 20) to the Southern Motorway (State Highway 1), immediately south of Manukau City.

It is also part of a planned western ring road, which would allow motorists to bypass Auckland City and the Harbour Bridge.