Bypass opens . . . no, really
Weeks of anticipation and false starts melt in the rearview mirror as we fly down the Huntly section of the Waikato Expressway.
Barriers and bright orange cones no longer block the newest piece of asphalt, which opened just before noon yesterday.
A steady whir of vehicles sail either side on our 11 minute trip down the highway from the Gordonton interchange.
Some sail too quickly, and a red police car catches a keen punter with his skates on. The 15km fourlane highway bypasses Huntly and snakes
smoothly toward Auckland between cone-shaped hills and furrows of dark green ferns.
It’s a route that’s been hotly awaited.
Ribbon was cut at an official opening for the $384 million Huntly section mid-February but finishing touches were still required.
And though plenty were keen to try the new road, the actual opening date was kept hush hush by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency – until just after it happened late yesterday morning.
Commuter Allan Hale was sipping his coffee in anticipation before testing the new route yesterday afternoon.
‘‘I’ve been crossing my fingers for the past few weeks, I’ve been coming in at 5 o’clock in the morning and it still hasn’t been open.’’
Hale travels regularly between Rotorua and Auckland for work, and thinks bypassing Huntly will shave at least 10 minutes off his journey.
‘‘It’s absolutely going to make a difference.
‘‘I’m often travelling through Huntly early in the morning so it’s not too bad, but when you hit heavy traffic you’re sitting there bumperto-bumper.
‘‘It’s just that little bit left now in Hamilton by the university, once that’s sorted we’ll fly through.’’
Waka Kotahi Waikato portfolio manager Darryl Coalter said travel on the new road will be safer, more reliable and more enjoyable.
Commuters will avoid congestion through Huntly, in an area which has a poor safety record, he said.
It takes State Highway 1 east of Huntly town, across lowlands and streams and over Taupiri Range, which is sacred to Waikato-Tainui Ma¯ ori.
‘‘Without a strong relationship with Waikato-Tainui we could not have got this road built in such a culturally significant area. We’ve set out to recognise this cultural significance through pou and other artwork along the route, and the restoration of two former paa sites.’’
The Waikato expressway is a
102-kilometre four-lane highway from the Bombay Hills to the south of Cambridge, which will be complete when the Hamilton section opens in late 2021.
Once finished, the expressway is expected to reduce travel times by
35 minutes between the Bombay Hills and south of Cambridge.