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Plans to upgrade the Hill Street intersection in Warkworth have been scrapped by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency (NZTA).
One Mahurangi co-chair Dave Stott has called the decision “appalling”.
The construction-ready project, which has been the subject of designs, consultations and business case studies for decades, was expected to start early next year. However, at the eleventh hour, NZTA withdrew its funding support.
NZTA had previously agreed to share costs 50/50 with Auckland Transport.
Stott says despite NZTA representatives attending quarterly infrastructure forums in Warkworth, the decision was communicated to One Mahurangi second-hand through Auckland Transport and Rodney Councillor Greg Sayers. The organisation still has not been contacted directly by anyone from NZTA.
“We still don’t know who put a stop to it or why,” Stott says.
One Mahurangi is seeking answers from Parliament’s Transport and Infrastructure Committee chair Andy Foster.
“We’ve given him a detailed background on Hill Street, as well as providing further traffic volume figures.
“He wasn’t all that optimistic, saying that if it was a decision that had been made at a ministerial level then he would have very little influence.
“I think we have to accept that the chances of the project proceeding are pretty slim.
“The only conclusion we can make is that Warkworth is not important to them.”
Stott also suspects that the opening of the Puhoi to Warkworth motorway has had an impact. He says that although the motorway has reduced traffic [by an estimated 26 per cent] through the intersection, volumes are likely to increase to pre-motorway numbers, or may even exceed pre-motorway numbers, when all the consented developments around Warkworth come online in roughly five years’ time.
“We really thought we had finally got this project over the line – it is a huge disappointment.”
Stott says he personally doesn’t see any point in continuing to lobby for Hill Street under the present government.
It had been hoped that the upgrade would happen in tandem with the installation of a new sewer main, from Warkworth Showgrounds to Elizabeth Street.
Stott says even though this will not happen now, One Mahurangi has received an assurance from Watercare that the sewer will be installed at such a depth that, should the roundabout proposal proceed in the future, there will be no need to re-do the mains.
What they had to say
NZTA:
“NZTA is waiting on pre-implementation work to be completed, including a business case addendum, which will update the economic analysis and provide current evidence of demand and safety at the intersection to help identify when the project is needed.
“With the new Government Policy Statement on Land Transport now in effect, its new priorities mean that the intersection improvements have not been prioritised for funding in the 2024-27 National Land Transport Programme (NLTP).
“Funding for the project has been rated as ‘committed’ for pre-implementation (development) work only, meaning that work which was funded in a previous NLTP period has been carried forward into the current 2024-27 period. This allows planning work to continue but there is no new funding for construction of the improvements.”
Auckland Transport:
“Funding to deliver the Hill Street intersection upgrades has not been secured. The project has, therefore, been deferred until such a time as funding is available.”
Rodney Councillor Greg Sayers:
“Auckland Transport has put its 50 per cent of funding aside for Hill Street and lobbied NZTA that now is the best time to upgrade it before traffic counts increase again.
However, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says he has other intersections to fix ahead of Hill Street.
This is deeply disappointing because Watercare needs to run its underground lines through Hill Street and they wanted to coordinate with Auckland Transport to only dig up the intersection once. Now it will looks like disruption will occur twice. And the major reconstruction has been pushed out by the Minister by at least 10 years.
One Mahurangi, the Warkworth Area Liaison Group and myself, along with the Rodney Local Board, will meet with local MP Chris Penk and Mayor Wayne Brown to discuss how the Minister may be persuaded to reprioritise Hill Street. This will be in the New Year.”
Kaipara ki Mahurangi MP Chris Penk had not responded when the paper went to press.
