Addressing bypass and bridge delay gains political momentum

October 15th, 2010

The long-standing issue of a State Highway bypass of Motueka's main street and the associated construction of a new river bridge is rising to the surface again with pledges by the two local parliamentarians to support re-examination of NZTA's plans.

Last week both Labour list MP Damien O'Connor and West Coast/Tasman MP Chris Auchinvole said they would support calls for bringing forward construction of a bypass and new bridge. Damien met with local leaders to hear their concerns.

Regardless of who 'made the first move', both MPs are now saying that the decision coming out of this year's Motueka Transportation Study to put the work into the 10- to 20-year timeframe was not satisfactory. Having both men more actively involved in lobbying for faster action should help get results.

The Transportation Study, commissioned jointly by the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) and the Tasman District Council, concluded that a bypass including a new bridge was unlikely to attract central government funding within the next 20 years, and Mr Auchinvole told the Nelson Mail "that ain't good enough". He suggested a completion date within the next 20 years rather than a start date and that he would be trying to persuade the governing National party caucus along this line.

With the Ruby Bay bypass to be in use very soon, both Chris and Damien say attention will now move further up the road to the next place where traffic congestion and driver and pedestrian safety is an issue - High Street in Motueka. Chris Auchinvole told the Nelson Mail that he plans to host a public meeting in November and to launch of a petition to gauge Motueka residents' support for a bypass.

The Transportation Plan (reported here) suggests several options for one or two bypasses as well as the possibility of building a new bridge to connect to either the Chamberlain Road or Queen Vistoria Street options. However, the only options that were considered for the next few years' timeframe - the use of Thorp and Queen Victoria streets - did not involve a permanently effective solution, in the eyes of most people.

Motueka Community Board chairman David Ogilvie told the Nelson Mail, "We've got to put a timeframe on it because we've been talking about it since 1990 ... every time we get a new study it says a bypass is 20 years away. Let's put a date on it, say 2030, and work towards it, and stop messing around with interim measures that are not going to solve the problem."

Comment by Matt Beech:
[Posted 22 November 2010]

It would be very encouraging to see the funds for this new bridge and bypass so allocated, rather than being swallowed up so frequently north of the Bombay Hills in the North Island!

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