Kiwiblog

The Greens has said their policy is to scrap Transmission Gully, and use the money to fund Auckland rail.  Wellingtonians should be outraged by this theft.

If there is a Labour-led Government, the Greens will have massive influence as their vote is around 1/2 that of Labour’s. Will the death of Transmission Gully be one of the conditions in a coalition agreement?

Brownyn Torrie reports at Stuff:

A decision on Transmission Gully will be made within months, nearly a century after an inland route was first suggested – but tolls are still likely to help fund it.

Environment Minister Nick Smith referred the roading proposal to an independent board of inquiry yesterday under new rules to fast-track projects of national significance.

Dr Smith said the swift process would avoid lengthy delays such as the 17 years it took Wellington’s inner-city bypass to gain approval.

There is still more reform to be done of the RMA, but thank goodness a major project can now be consented in a matter of months rather than years.

The board of inquiry, to be overseen by the Environmental Protection Authority, will decide within nine months whether the project can go ahead as planned.

Construction could start as early as 2015.

Great. Up until this Government, I thought I would never see it in my life-time.

Transport Minister Steven Joyce said Transmission Gully would cost just under $1 billion and a toll to contribute to the cost was still likely.

I will happily pay a toll to use the road. All for user-pays.

Bronwyn Torrie at the Dom Post writes:

Porirua’s mayor is pleading for the Government to ring-fence cash for Transmission Gully to prevent the money being redirected to rebuilding Christchurch.

Wellington roading projects could be in jeopardy as the Government looks to shuffle about $15 billion toward Christchurch.

The prospect has prompted Porirua Mayor Nick Leggett to plead for the “economically critical” billion-dollar motorway project to be ring-fenced.

I’ve been an advocate for Transmission Gully for 20 years or so. I was incredibly happy when Steven Joyce put an end to decades of dithering and announced funding for Transmission Gully.

However I have to disagree with Mayor Leggett. Wellingtonians, as well as Aucklanders, have to be prepared to have some of our infrastructure spending delayed. rebuilding Christchurch must be the priority.

Now this is not to say that Transmission Gully should be removed as a road of national significance – merely that if it is necessary to delay it, then so be it.

Instead, he says the “sacrificial lamb” should be the Petone-to-Granada link road, expected to cost $250 million and ease pressure on Ngauranga Gorge.

Not sure it will be a choice of one or the other. Both may need to be delayed.

Today’s editorial:

If Steven Joyce does nothing else as transport minister, he has ensured himself the grateful thanks of Wellingtonians.

I have to say that the response on the street has been overwhelmingly positive. I think most people had given up on it ever actually getting funding.

Yesterday’s green lighting of Transmission Gully as part of a $2.1 billion to $2.4b upgrade of the main road north is a godsend for the Wellington region. All going to plan, the capital will, in 10 years, be linked to all points north by a four-lane expressway stretching from Wellington Airport to Levin. Vehicles will be able to move in and out of the capital with a minimum of fuss and bother. The benefits will be enjoyed not just by motorists but by businesses that will be able to get their goods to market faster.

And having fewer cars stuck in traffic jams will mean less emissions!

The last government undertook to contribute several hundred million dollars towards the cost of upgrading the road north, but never came up with enough money to get the project under way. The difference between it and its successor is that this Government has decided to invest nearly $11 billion in new state highway infrastructure in the next 10 years to reduce congestion and road deaths and improve productivity. As Mr Joyce noted yesterday: “There is nothing like putting a funding pipeline on the table and saying to people `knock yourselves out’.” There is also, it appears, nothing like a minister who earned his spurs in the business world rather than making paperclip chains on Parliament’s back benches. Mr Joyce has injected a sense of urgency into his portfolio.

The last Govt did start moving in the right direction, but as the Dom Post says, Steven has brought his business experience to the portfolio, and has made some relatively quick decisions on the important priorities.

Finally after 60 years of dithering, we have a final decision to proceed with Transmission Gully. Steven Joyce says:

Once complete, the upgraded route from Wellington Airport to Levin is expected to deliver travel time savings of between 23 and 33 minutes during peak times and between 17 and 23 minutes during the day.

Following the 2008 election the Minister said he was not prepared to support funding for the proposal until he had seen a thorough assessment of Transmission Gully alongside the alternative Coastal Route.

Mr Joyce says Transmission Gully has been debated for decades but this is the first time a decision has come with the plan and the funding track to see it through.

If only this decision could have been made a couple of decades ago, when it would have been much cheaper. But better late than never and most Wellingtonians will be very pleased that Steven Joyce and the NZTA has made this decision.

Joyce also announced that his is part of a four lane expressway planned from Wellington Airport to Levin. Yay.  Thi will include duplication of the Mt Vic and Terrace tunnels.

Finally, the route through Kapiti has also been announced, and it is basically along the existing Western Link designation – but four lanes instead of two. The current SH1 will become a local road.

There is finally a long-term co-ordinated plan for greater Wellington region. Again, this will be very popular with everyone but Sue Kedgley.