Wellington motorway plan hailed as 'a brilliant result'

The Transmission Gully Motorway has been given the nod as a new inland route in and out of Wellington.

A subcommittee, set up by the Greater Wellington Regional Council opted for the gully route over an upgrade of the present coastal highway route.

The decision has been hailed by United Future leader and Ohariu-Belmont MP Peter Dunne as "a brilliant result" for the people of the lower North Island.

The subcommittee recommended a full four-lane Transmission Gully Motorway from Mackays Crossing in the north to Linden in the south.

It also recommended the deferral or deletion of a number of other proposed road changes in the region.

The subcommittee found that in the longer term the status of the current State Highway 1 alignment from Mackays Crossing to Linden should be reduced to meeting local traffic needs and providing a scenic route in which lower speeds and traffic volumes would prevail after the opening of the gully route.

Mr Dunne, who has campaigned for the gully route for the past 15 years, said the recommendation meant that the arguing about the route was over, and it was time for the work to begin immediately.

"I now expect the Government to honour the pledge it made in the confidence and supply agreement with United Future after the last election concerning the gully route."

Transit New Zealand's board will consider the subcommittee's report at its meeting next month.

Decisions on ways to proceed were unlikely before that meeting, Transit board chairman David Stubbs said last night.

The Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce has welcomed the report and has called for the region's decision-makers to unanimously get behind its recommendations.

"What we have at long last is an objective and representative study of what the region actually needs and wants, and more importantly, what is achievable in the way of a long-term and comprehensive transport solution," chamber president Simon Arnold said.

"The report has taken into account a plethora of information and views and has, in our opinion, produced a platform that Transit, the Government and the region's mayors must accept and proceed with in a unified manner.

"The processes that have been employed here and subsequent findings cannot be ignored by our elected leaders," Mr Arnold said.

About 6000 submissions were made on the proposed Western Corridor Plan.

- NZPA