Subscribe to RSSOtaki To Levin Tenders Called
Wellington’s SH1 giant northern coastal expressway project took another big step today, while a vigorous debate about it continues on a local level during the local body elections.
Tenders are being called for initial work on the Otaki to Levin section of the road.
The work being tendered includes the investigation of options and preliminary design for the 21km section of State Highway 1 between north of Otaki and north of Levin.
An elated transport minister said the he Otaki to Levin route is an integral component of the Wellington Northern Corridor.
“When completed, it will provide faster and safer travel, as well as enhanced journey time reliability, for motorists travelling from across the lower North Island to Wellington and the airport,” says Mr Joyce.
So far this year:
- The establishment of an engineering and construction alliance for the MacKays to Peka Peka section, which is currently looking at the final route alignment
- The commencement of design work for the Peka Peka to Otaki section
- The release of tender documents for the investigation of the important Otaki to Levin section of the Wellington Northern Corridor
- The Transmission Gully project on track to lodge consent applications by mid-2011
- A scoping study started as part of the Mt Victoria Tunnel duplication projects.
“The completion of the new road will bring real gains through improving economic growth and productivity through more efficient movement of people and freight,” says Mr Joyce.
“The release today of tender documents for the Levin to Otaki section is an important step towards getting the Expressway designed and built so that these benefits can be realised.
“The Government is committed to lifting productivity, creating jobs and helping get our goods to market faster. Strong investment in our state highways and the completion of projects such as this will help deliver on these priorities.”
Tenders for the Otaki to Levin section of the road will close in late October and the NZ Transport Agency should be in a position to award the tender before Christmas.
Further north, NZTA is progressing preparations for a temporary single-lane bailey bridge to take traffic over the State Highway 21 (Airport Road) Waikato River Crossing, just south of Hamilton at the Narrows.
The fourth foundation is being completed today to enable a temporary bailey bridge to be installed immediately downstream of the existing bridge in the fastest possible timeframe. The bailey bridge will provide one lane of traffic, controlled by traffic signals.
Weather permitting, the NZTA is expecting to reopen the SH21 Waikato River crossing at the Narrows by the end of October.
The Narrows Bridge was closed on 16 September when the NZTA was unable to continue monitoring the erosion damage in the vicinity of the bridge due to rising river levels. The bridge will remain closed until the river level drops and further analysis of the river banks can be undertaken.
3 Comments
They dont need a bloody expressway between Otaki and Levin, this would totally destroy the rural environment around the area. That Joyce is a moran, he is obviously a minister of roads not transport.
I for one don’t want to see a 4 lane expressway ploughed through a nice small community.
Above commentor is talking bollocks!
Build that Expressway ASAP. It is the only sensible move.
Remove the congestion out of the Kapiti Coast and Horowhenua local roads and get commuting and trucking traffic onto the expressway.
As someone who uses this route 100 times a year, the existing single lane route simply cannot handle busy times, which concist of commuting traffic, weekend traffic or holiday traffic.
Allow the Northern Corridor to provide good vechicle access to the Western Coast for the region to open up areas for suitable housing outside of Wellington.
Im on a balanced side, I agree that an expressway could ruin a nice community but what other choice is there? Accidents and Congestion are increasing and it is not like Steven Joyce is going to pay to introduce a nice electric train from Japan and electrify the WGTN - PLN network and double track, because he seems to think they are “uneconomical” but even if by some miracle that Steven got sacked and we get an awesome minister of transport, traffic on state highway one will still increase because of the expanding population of Kapiti.
How Original,
An opponent, a pro, and a netural.