Transmission Gully legal costs mount while Wellingtonians wait for road
13 Dec, 2020 04:00 PM
3 minutes to read
The Transmission Gully construction site at Wainui Saddle. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Wellington issues reporter, NZ Heraldgeorgina.campbell@nzme.co.nz
While Wellingtonians have waited year after year for Transmission Gully to be built, lawyers have lined their pockets with $1.7 million worth of taxpayer money.
The 27-kilometre motorway is behind schedule and will now cost $1.25 billion after massive budget blowouts.
The road is being built through a public-private partnership (PPP), the Wellington Gateway Partnership (WGP), with CPB Contractors and HEB Construction sub-contracted to carry out the design and construction.
The carriages have been retrieved from storage in Taumarunui and will be upgraded in a style similar to those used on the Te Huia service, which is expected to begin on the Waikato-to-Auckland route next year. Utikere said the investment was massive for Palmerston North, providing security for the service and an improved experience for commuters. “The Capital Connection is a fantastic service and well-utilised, and is my preferred method for travel to Parliament.” He said tables on the trains would make it easier for people to work on the trip. It would be modern, more comfortable and a smoother ride.
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Maggie Batenburg rides with her two children Oscar, 5 and Matilda, 3, at the Christchurch Northern Corridor open day on Saturday. “It’s almost like a little motorway network for bikes. There are exits, give way signs and underpasses so you don’t have to cross busy intersections,” she said. “I was really surprised how much thought had gone into the bike lanes. It will definitely encourage people to cycle.” The mother-of-two bought an electric cargo bike just before the Covid-19 lockdown, intending to cycle to daycare and work. Road safety fears had deterred her – until now. “I think the more the [city] council can do for safety that encourages more cycling the better.”
That’s the equivalent of the entire annual budget for state highway improvements. The worst offenders were the Wellington Roads of National significance, which went $381m over budget, and a series of Auckland roads that went $352m over budget. The cost overruns were revealed in written Parliamentary questions to Green party transport spokesperson and former associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter. Genter said construction costs were increasing too fast.
Ross Giblin
Transmission Gully has run hundreds of millions of dollars over budget. “Construction costs have been increasing at an alarming rate over the past few years. NZTA clearly needs to do more to get costs under control.”