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Twenty-five of the 143 affected properties on the indicative route for the Warkworth to Te Hana motorway have been acquired.
But Waka Kotahi (NZ Transport Agency) confirms that the completion of the new motorway between Puhoi and Warkworth next year won’t trigger a start on the second stage of the Ara Tuhono (Warkworth to Te Hana) motorway project.
System design regional manager (Auckland/Northland) Randhir Karma says the detailed business case for construction is conditional on certain issues such as safety and increased traffic volumes. Waka Kotahi does not anticipate any works on the corridor commencing this decade.
Auckland Council granted resource consents, subject to conditions, for the Warkworth to Wellsford project in March last year. Appeals were filed by Waka Kotahi and by the Director-General of Conservation in relation to certain consent conditions.
“Three other appeals were filed by private landowners,” Karma says. “Two of the landowner appeals have been resolved and discussions are continuing with the third landowner in an effort to resolve the remaining appeal. No hearing has been scheduled. The appeals of Waka Kotahi and the Director-General are in advanced discussions and Waka Kotahi hopes to resolve those in the near future.”
Meanwhile, the purchase of properties along the proposed route continues, with a total of 94 landowners.
“When disputes arise around a property’s value, they are addressed by the respective registered valuers in the first instance. If a resolution is not reached, other mechanisms can be used, including mediation or seeking an award from the Land Valuation Tribunal.”
Karma says that finishing the route projection phase will provide long-term certainty for property owners, adjacent communities and the wider region.
He says that while there are funds available for early property purchases, Waka Kotahi has not yet allocated any construction funding for the project and there has been no decision on the contract model such as a Public Private Partnership.
A proposed indicative route, connecting with the new motorway just north of Warkworth, was identified at the end of 2017. Another interchange is proposed near Mangawhai Road, where the new motorway will connect back to the existing SH1.
