My Account
Following the announcement last month that the projected cost to build the Penlink Road and bridge from Whangaparāoa to Redvale has blown out to more than double, Hibiscus Matters has been seeking the details behind that increased cost from Government.
Recently Transport Minister Michael Wood responded, putting the increase from $411m to $830m for the 7km, two-lane build down to “a range of factors including increases in construction materials and resources from the impacts of Covid-19, as well as more detailed investigations”.
“These investigations identified poor ground conditions that will lead to increased construction costs,” the Minister said. “Significant risks, which are common to large roading projects of this size, also mean there’s a need for a larger contingency to help manage these risks. We have faced the same pressures with roading projects across the rest of the NZ Upgrade Programme.”
The newspaper has been told that Government plans to release more details of how the new costings were arrived at in the coming weeks. Watch this space.
Currently the start of construction has been pushed out to next year.
