Ribbon cut on NZ’S ‘best road’
''I think the logic for going further is pretty strong.'' Transport Minister Simon Bridges
They just snipped the ribbon on one $630 million section of new roading, and were savouring the new-asphalt smell. Why not push further?
Transport Minister Simon Bridges has expressed an appetite for pushing an already $2 billion roading plan further into the heart of the North Island.
Bridges was buoyant yesterday after opening the first section of the Kapiti expressway – four months ahead of schedule.
The Mackays to Peka Peka section of the expressway ‘‘literally is now the best road in New Zealand’’, he said on a new bridge over the Waikanae River.
It was part of the Wellington Northern Corridor – a 110km road of national significance, from Wellington Airport to north of Levin, tagged for billions in works.
Bridges said yesterday there was scope to push the corridor further.
‘‘Look, at the moment the Wellington Northern Corridor is airport to north of Levin. I think the logic for going further is pretty strong actually.’’
The argument for pushing further was more a case of when, and how much, not if.
‘‘Ultimately really it’s more a question of timing and costing. All those things we’ll work through.’’
AA spokesman Mike Noon said they supported looking at pushing the corridor further with expressways improving safety on the roads.
He said the Mackays to Peka Peka expressway was just in time, or even a bit late, with the travel times on the existing road absolutely terrible.
A string of crashes on SH1 on the Kapiti Coast came because the road was struggling to cope with the traffic it was taking, he said.
He said ideally New Zealand would have ‘‘a really good road from Wellington to Auckland’’.
The completion of the first section of the expressway was marked with a special ceremony where Bridges snipped the ribbonon the new, second bridge over the Waikanae River.
He said more than $200m of the project spend went to the Kapiti economy through local businesses and more than 5000 people worked on the project.
The 18km four-lane expressway stretches along the Kapiti Coast, and includes 18 bridges and 16km of walking and cycleways.
People will have a chance to experience the road tomorrow before it opens to traffic later this month.
In November, Bridges announced Fletcher Construction had won the contract to build the next, $330m Peka Peka to Otaki section of the expressway, with earthworks starting in mid-2017.
It would be the northernmost section of three projects running through the Kapiti Coast, starting with the $850m Transmission Gully project in the south, with Mackays to Peka Peka making up the middle section.
Transmission Gully and the northern section of the Kapiti expressway are set for completion in 2020. – Fairfax NZ