Chris Bishop - MP for Hutt South

16 August 2018

The Government must come clean on what its new transport plan and its focus on building a new tram in Auckland at the expense of regional roads means for the future of the important Petone to Grenada Link Road, National’s Chris Bishop and Brett Hudson say.

“The New Zealand Transport Agency has issued a project newsletter this week titled ‘Shift in government transport priorities prompts fresh look at P2G’ which confirms this important project is under serious threat, yet the Government has kept quiet on this,” Mr Bishop says.

“This is because the Government’s cuts to state highway funding to fund trams along Dominion Road in Auckland are now starting to bite, with residents of Ōhāriu and the Hutt first to be hurt.

“The Petone to Grenada Link Road would significantly add to regional roading resilience in Wellington, while unlocking productivity and commercial opportunities for the Hutt Valley. It would also ease congestion for residents of Ōhāriu and the Hutt traveling to and from Wellington.”

“It’s been estimated up to 20,000 vehicle movements per day could be transferred from State Highway 1 to the P2G link road,” Mr Hudson says.

“That would have a major impact on congestion along State Highway 1 from Tawa south to Ngauranga Gorge, benefiting the bulk of the population of Ōhāriu and freeing up traffic movements across the wider city.

“It needs to go ahead. P2G is a vital project and should be developed along with the Cross Valley Link road in the Hutt which would link to the east of the Hutt Valley where heavy industry is located, making it easier to do business and to get around.

“Now this vital project is under serious threat because of Labour’s new transport policy settings. The Government promised New Zealanders the balance wouldn’t be tipped too far in favour of Aucklanders at the expense of the rest of the country. That promise is looking increasingly hollow and they need to front up.”

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