Subscribe to RSS$1.4b Upgrade of SH1 Puhoi To Wellsford
A $1.4 billion strategic upgrade of State Highway 1 from Puhoi to Wellsford.
The first stage from Puhoi to Warkworth will be complete within 9 years.
NZTA says the second stage (Warkworth to Wellsford) will be more challenging to finish in that time but that remains the transport agency’s goal.
Transport minister Steven Joyce says that one option being investigated is to build the Warkworth Bypass first to relieve congestion at that point.
“However, we would still need to know where the road north and south of that links into the bypass route so it will still take some time to get the consents for that section.”
He said that the focus over the next couple of years will be undertaking detailed investigation and design work to determine route options and obtain statutory consents. This will include public consultation on possible routes.
“The government’s $10.7 billion commitment to state highway funding over the ten year period means that funding is not the big issue for this project but the reality is design, consultation and consenting processes all take time. On our current timetable this will be the fastest ever major highway project completed in this country from go to whoa.”
The Minister expressed frustration over the lack of planning for the route prior to last year.
“Given the previous government seemed to believe the job finished at Puhoi and had no intention of four-laning beyond that, we were beginning from a standing start and have been playing catch-up over the last twelve months.”
The Contractors’ Federation welcomed this saying New Zealand needs to move towards a model of getting these projects completed more swiftly. “The civil construction industry has the capacity to build these projects and, as long as the correct processes are in place, it makes sense to release the economic benefits they bring at the earliest opportunity.”
8 Comments
Warkworth is the real issue, north bound traffic has to queue up at the Sandspit/Snells/Matakana lights on SH1 before being able to flow north. Madness
and the BCR on this project would be……???
It’s fair enough to look into doing the Warkworth Bypass first and looking into where the route north and south has to go as future proffing is esential, so it was not as bad as I assumed, I though they would just go do the whole route but staging it makes sense.
In many ways this road needed work done before the Waikato Expressway. The intersection at the northern end of Warkworth has a loonatic configuration. Dome Valley even in the early 1970′s when I used to investigate insurance injury claims pre ACC had several fatal accidents per year, often multiple fatals.
The greatest unfairness in this I believe is with road v rail
The north line apart from the deviation at Swanson, realigned from memory in about the 1960′s, to ease the gradient has changed little since the 1930′s. At that time the State Highway ended at Maungataroto and was little more than a goat track. There was no Harbour Bridge and you either waited for a vehicle ferry or went via Riverhead. Rail was more than competitive and there was at least one passenger train north per day.
Although a dangerous road now, it is much improved and 100kph for cars most of the way. With the uncertain future lurking ahead millions need to be spent on the line to bring it up to the 21 century. A more direct line via a harbour tunnel is needed now and this will make it a more level playing field and the connection to the new northland port should start now as well.
and the BCR on this project would be……???
0.8
As usual, the National and ACT Parties (and to a great extent every party in Parliament bar the Greens) are committed to throwing great sums of money into holes in the ground.
@George Be fair, they are holes that need to be filled. We need to end Auckland’s traffic jams to get the economy moving in our biggest city
@ ACT supporter. Yes we do need to get people moving through the CITY. Building this motorway miles north of the urban area will do nothing to ease Auckland’s traffic jams of people on their daily commute. This is an indulgence not a hole that needs to be filled. By the way investing heavily in motorways alone has not solved congestion anywhere.
I’m guessing Labour (and the NZTA) didn’t look at four laning north of Puhoi because even a raving, self pleasuring, retarded lunatic shaved monkey could see it is a humongeous waste of money… Joyce is a fool and even worse he is a fool who thinks he is clever…