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As initial geotechnical work continues, the project team behind the Ara Tūhono – Warkworth to Te Hana motorway is visiting community markets and events over the summer to share progress and hear feedback from locals.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) says the pop-up events will provide updates on the entire Northland Corridor Roads of National Significance programme from Warkworth to Whangarei, and are designed to reach the maximum number of people across north Auckland and Northland.
NZTA is currently undertaking geotechnical investigation on the Warkworth to Te Hana section, with more than 500 metres of borehole drilling already completed. The work includes using helicopters to move machinery in to hard-to-access areas of Matariki Forest in the Dome Valley. Ecologists and archaeologists have also joined the team to assess sites for possible heritage discoveries.
The name Ara Tūhono was gifted to the project by treaty partners Hōkai Nuku and means ‘a connecting pathway’. Hōkai Nuku is the authorised voice of four iwi and hapū mana whenua – Ngāti Manuhiri, Te Uri o Hau, Ngāti Rango of Kaipara and Ngāti Whātua – whose rohe are affected by the new road.
NZTA has worked with Hōkai Nuku since 2010, when the partnership was formed to collaborate on the Ara Tūhono – Pūhoi to Warkworth stage and they will continue to provide cultural and environmental advice for Warkworth to Te Hana.
The Northland Corridor Summer Roadshow will be at the old dairy factory market in Matakana on Saturday, December 14 between 9am and 2pm, the Mangawhai Tavern market on January 11 from 8.30am to 1pm, and Waipu street market from 9am to 2pm on January 26. The NZTA team will also be at the Paparoa A&P Show on February 1.
NZTA says it is looking at holding more information sessions in Wellsford and Warkworth in future as design progresses, and it will be doing targeted engagement in these areas in the new year.
“We are also sharing all of the information via our newsletters, which people can subscribe to, or visit our website to access.”
There is also a video flyover of Tūhono – Warkworth to Te Hana showing the proposed route for the corridor and how it could look.
Anyone who can’t make the summer roadshow dates and would like to talk to someone about Ara Tūhono or plans for Te Hana north to Whangarei can email northlandproject@nzta.govt.nz
Flyover video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbOOG5YBnvQ
