29 November 2012

NZ Transport Agency – Southern region

Christchurch Southern Motorway to open for southbound traffic

Traffic heading south out of Christchurch will be able to travel on the new Christchurch Southern Motorway Stage 1 from this weekend.

The Christchurch Southern Motorway Stage 1 (CSM1) is one of a package of roading projects that make up Christchurch’s Roads of National Significance (RoNS) programme. Now nearing completion, the Christchurch Southern Motorway Stage 1 will be the first of these projects finished in the South Island. This project will be formally opened on Friday 14 December by Minister of Transport Gerry Brownlee.

“There is significant pressure on Christchurch roads to cope with the rapid increase in traffic growth so it is critical we that we open the motorway to traffic as soon as work is completed,” says NZ Transport Agency Christchurch State Highway Manager Colin Knaggs.

“This weekend we will open the southbound lanes, helping traffic heading out of the city, and we’re aiming to complete work in the second week of December which will enable traffic heading into the city to use the new motorway.”

The new eight kilometre long four-lane, median-separated motorway, which runs between Collins Street and Halswell Junction Road, will provide a safer, more efficient and reliable route between the Central City, Lyttelton Port and south-west Christchurch. This project also includes the already complete 2.5 km Halswell Junction Rd upgrade.
ends

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Gordon Campbell: On Failures Of Care For Those With Mental Disabilities

Hard to imagine a more disturbing insight into the treatment of the vulnerable than the Health Ministry report on Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau. The Ministry has found that the country’s only kaupapa Maori intellectual disability residential care provider has been “seriously dysfunctional.”

The ministry says the business has failed to recruit and retain quality staff – and says the kaimahi (caregivers) that have been employed are seriously unsuitable for the job, lacking basic knowledge. But Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau doesn’t get all the blame. The report says there’s a significant gap under disability laws to ensure there’s oversight by qualified clinical professionals. More>>