Roadworks on the Ōtaki expressway in 2021. Photo: Supplied / NZTA / Mark Coote
Two district councils in the Lower North Island are banding together against downgraded plans for an expressway through their districts.
More than a decade after it was originally proposed, a revised design for the Ōtaki to North of Levin expressway has seen on-ramps and overbridges removed, and interchanges replaced by roundabouts.
Council and community advocates from the Kāpiti and Horowhenua districts said the sudden change has left locals confused and appalled.
Community 'shafted' - mayor
Horowhenua Mayor Bernie Wanden said people were sold a well constructed expressway on par with the roads above and below the district.
But he said scaling back the project would increase safety risks and divide communities along the stretch.
"The community feels very short changed, shafted almost. Having spent many years agreeing to what this project looked like and - here we are at the 11th hour - now being told that it's going to change. You can imagine, the reaction has not been very good at all," Wanden said.
Horowhenua Trust chair Antony Young had been advocating for the construction of the expressway for nearly eight years.
He said the modifications to the project - only months out from work getting underway - had left locals in disbelief.
"It's a strong, small, tight community that just feels helpless. These changes are just being rushed through and force fed to the community and we just have no option other than to accept it," Young said.
Changes driven by government's 'affordability lens' - Waka Kotahi
NZTA project manager Glen Prince said the changes had been primarily driven by the coalition government's drive to save money.
But he said 80 percent of the design remained intact and the revised plan would still be of significant benefit.
"We believe that the solution that we can deliver here still delivers on those outcomes around safety, resilience, around travel time [and] reliability. Yes, we understand that there are some downsides but I think - on balance - we believe we've got it," Prince said.
Roundabouts will isolate development from township - MP
National MP for Ōtaki Tim Costley said while he supported the need to save money, the replacement of a full interchange with a roundabout near Levin's Tararua Rd would isolate the new Tara-Ika development - of 3500 homes - on the eastern side of the expressway.
"There's meant to be a new school, a shopping centre - it's a whole new mini-town - and every single person that's driving, cycling or walking between there and Levin township has to now have to cross State Highway One through traffic, through this roundabout, I think that will just be a nightmare," Costley said.
Councils call on residents to make their voices heard
Kāpiti deputy mayor Lawrence Kirby said residents and the two councils had reluctantly agreed on tolling for the road on the back of the promises made by the NZ Transport Agency.
He said those promises had now been broken.
"You go to a restaurant, they're promising you a three course meal. 'This is the cost of it', 'yup, we'll order it'. Then they deliver a two course meal without desert. It's a rip-off.
"We didn't like the idea of tolls in the first place. But that was the way it was to get the road we were promised. Now we're having to take the tolls and a second rate road," Kirby said.
Kirby said Horowhenua and Kāpiti District council's were calling on residents to contact the NZTA and Transport Minister, Chris Bishop to make their feelings known about the changes.
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