Dear Editor
NZTA have today published a press release stating that completion of the Wellington Northern Corridor delayed until at least 2021.
The Wellington Northern Corridor includes the proposed Kāpiti Sandhills motorway/Expressway.
Previously they had commented that the motorway would be open in 2020 but they are already slipping that date.
And we all know that time costs money.
Remember that the two lane WLR would be open in 2012 and cost just $120 million.
How much will this additional delay cost above the $500 million (minimum) they had suggested in August 2009?
NZTA want to make it sound like they are full of action.
So their release gives a certain “slant” or “spin” and uses omission to imply all sorts of things.
Read the full press release at this link.
www.nzta.govt.nz/about/media/releases/748/news.html
In addition to the announced $500 million, there are some unfunded issues that will need addressing.
1) How much extra will the proposed QE II cut-through cost ?
2) How much extra will KCDC have to pay to sort out Elizabeth Street in Waikanae for the electrification ?
3) How much extra will the proposed motorway cost to provide connectivity to the airport at Paraparaumu?
4) How much extra will it cost to sort out Kāpiti Rood, in Paraparaumu ?
5) How much extra will it cost KCDC to resolve the issues raised in the recent study which shows SH-1 needs improvements to make it “safer” ?
Finally, did you know that KCDC will have to budget $1 million each year for maintaining SH-1 when NZTA hands it over to them?
That’s extra on our rates, currently unfunded.
Colin Baxter
Waikanae