Panel backs Harbour Link toll ahead of survey result

Tauranga looks set to lead the way again on toll roads.

A hearings panel has thrown its support behind a proposal by Tauranga City Council and Transit New Zealand to fast-track construction of the city's $210 million Harbour Link project through a half-and-half combination of tolls and Government funding.

Work on the urgently needed link could begin as early as next year with tolling. The alternative is a 10-year wait for more than a 50 per cent contribution from the National Land Transport Fund, say the proponents.

Results of a survey of 1000 affected people are expected to be announced tomorrow.

The project will create a 4.9km four-lane highway connecting downtown Tauranga with Mt Maunganui.

It will include a second harbour bridge and a viaduct across the Sulphur Pt industrial area.

The panel, chaired by independent commissioner Alan Watson of Auckland, heard 1639 public submissions on the toll proposal. It made its recommendations at the weekend.

It said the key reason for supporting the funding initiative was that Harbour Link was critical to the delivery of Smart Growth, Tauranga Tomorrow, the Regional Land Transport Strategy and Smart Economy - all strategic documents adopted and being implemented by the city and the region's local authorities.

The panel, whose members included Terry Brown, a senior Transit New Zealand staff member involved in hearings on the proposed Alpurt B2 toll road north of Auckland, said it supported variable tolling as a means to manage peak traffic.

However, members agreed with many submitters who said Harbour Link should be a state highway because of its strategic importance.