In Transit March 1995 - No 61 - focus on bypasses

 

In Transit March 1995 No 61

Bypasses

Urlich Hill, Tar Hill, Catlins

Auckland south-eastern arterial etc

Bypasses

This edition ran a feature article on bypasses, highlighting the construction of the Pokeno bypass on SH1 being tendered (which would become essentially the top stage of the Waikato Expressway). The key point being how bypassing the town enabled reconstruction of its main road to suit local traffic and visitors, whereas some towns feared bypasses would mean the end of passing trade, Pokeno was welcoming it. 

The article continues to make some points about different towns and the conditions that determine whether or not a bypass might proceed such as whether existing roads are largely used vs. a new corridor (as the latter is more expensive it is less likely to be funded).  Levin and Stratford were cited as towns where it was too expensive to build a bypass as a new road would be needed.  Levin curiously was noted that 75% of southbound traffic and 66% of northbound traffic stops in Levin - given the current project to extend the Otaki Expressway to north of Levin (bypassing it), conditions have clearly changed somewhat.   Hikurangi and Mangonui in Northland have both benefited from bypasses, and it was noted that relocating SH1 away from downtown Hamilton had enabled the main street to be made more pedestrian friendly.  This reportedly increased city centre shopping.  

Wanganui was noted as having a motorway designation for a bypass, but this was considered unrealistic given traffic volumes, so a bypass close to the proposed route is proposed.  Ashburton was an interesting case study, in that SH1 was relocated onto a parallel road away from the town centre, but development occurred on the new route. This is considered suboptimal, because it simply means the new route becomes congested as well.  Transit NZ focused on bypasses providing safer and more efficient traffic flow.

Size of towns was important in considering bypasses, with Hamilton, Tauranga and Palmerston North having the main arterial running through them, able to stand on their own, but smaller towns regard through traffic as a lifeblood.  Timaru was noted as upgrading its main shopping street once its bypass is completed. Temuka likewise.  In Dunedin, SH88 was relocated away from Anzac Square/Dunedin Railway Station to make it more attractive for tourists, which was paid for fully by Dunedin City Council because it was a marginal disadvantage to motorists on the state highway. Progress was noted on designing bypasses for Motueka and Stoke, despite funding being considered marginal at this time. Finally, the bypass of Orewa (which ultimately became the Northern Gateway toll road) was noted as being as issue, because residents were concerned about the effect of the link road into Orewa (plus the original bypass designation was shelved, because Orewa's development mean the bypass would run between developments.

Other projects

• Urlich Hill realignment in Northland was approved (a 1km project)
• Mangaiti Hill deviation south of Tokoroa on SH1 had started (a 6 km project)
• Funding for sealing 11km of the Catlins Road had been approved, with a remaining 32km left to be sealed.
• Transit NZ has approved funding for Auckland City Council's South-Eastern Arterial project (with plans for it to be linked to Mangere Bridge in due course)
• Strategy underway to ease congestion on Auckland's Northern corridor, by relieving bottlenecks on approaches to the Harbour Bridge, and developing a priority lane between Onewa Rd and Constellation Drive to encourage bus use and high occupancy vehicles. This would ultimately lead to construction of the Victoria Park Tunnel and the Northern Busway (although at the time the plan was for widening the Victoria Park viaduct). Note the expectation at the time was that the busway would be a high-occupancy vehicle lane.

Transnews - Dunedin regional newsletter of Transit NZ March 1995 - Haast Pass sealing

 

Wanaka to Haast Road Sealed

Transnews March 1995 regional update

Transnews was the Dunedin Regional Office newsletter, this issue highlights:

• Completion of the sealing of SH6 Haast Pass, comprising the last 5.5km of SH6 that was unsealed.  Noting effort taken to make it a two-lane route.
• Completion of flood repairs in Southland and Otago
• Safety improvements on SH6 in Invercargill
• Design contract awarded for the Fairfield Motorway extension in Dunedin, which would eventually bypass Fairfield and connect the Green Island section of Dunedin Southern Motorway to the Mosgiel realignment.
• Tenders called to realign SH1 between Hillgrove and Katie
• Sealing contract awarded to complete sealing the last 16km SH87 between Middlemarch and Kokonga (also part of the strategy to seal all state highways.

In Transit February 1995 - creation of a National Roads Fund and a separate land transport funding agency

 

Announcement of creation of a National Roads Fund

New structure for Transit NZ and SH6 Haast seal completion

Road toll down in 1994

Campaign about stock on roads and centralising traffic control in Auckland

Funding reform

The focus of this issue of In Transit is further reform of the road sector.  Legislation introduced (and subsequently passed) created a hypothecated roads fund and what would eventually become Transfund New Zealand, as a separate dedicated land transport funding agency. Albeit at the time of this newsletter, Transit NZ was hoping to avoid this. At this time, Transit NZ was both the state highway manager and the land transport funding agency, and did not wish to lose the latter function, which meant that it was responsible for decisions for funding itself, as well as funding local authorities for local road and passenger transport activities. Transit NZ's response to the reform was to set up a separate division, to deliver the funding function separate from its other activities, although it would all report to the same General Manager and Board. The Government of the day did not accept that this would be adequate separation between funder and provider.

The fund would mean revenue from road user charges, motor vehicle registration and licensing fees, and a specified portion of fuel excise duty would go into a National Roads Fund, which would determine the quantum of funds available to spend on land transport.  The reason for this was to ensure that growth in revenue from road users would be reflected in funding available for land transport infrastructure. Linked to this was the requirement to develop a national land transport strategy.

The reforms also saw provision made to continue previous introduced regional petrol taxes to support public transport funding (although not permanently). The new entity (not yet called Transfund) was at the time named as the New Zealand Roads Board, but in the interim a separate subsidiary entity would be set up in Transit NZ to undertake funding before it was completely separated.

Separating the funding and operational functions was seen as "improving Transit NZ's commercial transparency".  All of this was essentially reversed on 31 July 2008 when Transit NZ was merged into Land Transport New Zealand (which itself was a merger between Transfund NZ and the Land Transport Safety Authority in 2004), into the entity now known as Waka Kotahi/New Zealand Transport Agency. 

Other

• SH6 Haast Pass sealing has been completed.
• Road toll in 1994 was the lowest in 15 years at 581, attributed to increased speed enforcement and a major anti drink-drive campaign. Also noted was the safety audit programme reviewing the safety issues of potential projects. Crashes at black spots fell 35% in nine years. 
• Concern farmers are not using stock movement signs adequately.
• Investigation into what would be Auckland's Advanced Traffic Management System and centralised traffic control, with electronic signage that would later be introduced across Auckland's motorway network.

In Transit December 1994/January 1995 No. 59 - the storm damage issue

 

In Transit December 1994

In Transit December 1994

In Transit December 1994

In Transit December 1994

In December 1994, Transit NZ was reporting on reconstruction over the past year on highways in Milford and Haast due to rainfall. However, it was able to fund reconstruction and restoration from its existing funding under the National Land Transport Programme.  It notes over 100km of road had been rebuilt or repaired, following massive rock falls and slips demolishing large segments of highways and burying bridges.  Christchurch was also hit, but it was noted that major projects were not badly affected.

This issue also reports:

• Construction of the Eland-Glengarry realignment on SH5 (Napier-Taupo Road) realigning 5km of state highway (and having a BCR of 7.6) 
• Decision to build passing bays in Homer Tunnel, partly because large tour coaches find it difficult to pass in the tunnel. The passing bay proposal had a lower BCR than the funding threshold, but funding was approved due to its strategic importance to tourism.
• Series of projects in Wellington including realignment of 1km of SH58, Martinborough flood relief bridge, Newland flyover construction commenced, Whangamoa Hill deviation on SH6 Marlborough underway, design of the Stoke bypass commenced, planning for bypasses of Ruby Bay and Motueka.
• Major public consultation on options for SH1 between Porirua and Waikanae, these were in response to Transmission Gully not being able to be funded in the foreseeable future.  Noting Transmission Gully was estimated to cost $150m at the time and not expected to be funded for at least 15 years (2009).  However, the Transmission Gully route was still to be designated to protect it from development and to give landowners certainty. 
• All Northland state highways will be sealed by 1996 following a contract to seal the last 10km of SH12 through Waipoua Forest, noting special root bridges were designed to avoid damaging kauri tree roots.
• Contract awarded to realign the Waiau Bridge and approaches in north Taranaki on SH3.
• Waikato projects including four-laning of Fairy Springs Road in Rotorua, sealing of the last 6km of SH25 Coromandel, Pokeno bypass, Mangatawhiri Bridge realignment and Tamahere deviation (Waikato Expressway).
• Auckland projects including completion of the Bombay Hills motorway extension, commencement of construction of the Mangere motorway (connecting the Mangere Bridge with the Papatoetoe Bypass and including the Airport motorway connection) and completion of the Upper Harbour highway interchange on the Northern Motorway. 

In Transit No.57 October 1994 - forestry impacts on future road maintenance

 

In Transit October 1994 No. 57

In Transit October 1994 No. 57

In Transit October 1994 No.57

In Transit October 1994 No. 57

This issue highlighted challenges from growth in forestry traffic on both state highways and local roads, as Transit NZ had surveyed 18 local authorities expected to be most affected by growth in logging traffic. A 25% increase was expected over five years overall.  The key conclusion was that Transit NZ could fund the maintenance on its network and its share of local road maintenance, with the need being for local authorities to meet their share of funding their networks. 

Other key points in this issue:

• Up to $7m of funding provided to Far North and Whangarei District Councils to both reseal and extend the length of seal on local roads in both districts (all of which have a BCR of 5 or over)
• Discussion about the future of the old Mangere Bridge (which was ultimately dismantled and replaced with a new walking and cycling bridge which opened in 2022).
• Western Australia learning from Transit NZ about addressing accident blackspots.
• Design of the proposal for an alternative to the Wellington Urban Motorway extension, which was ultimately built as the Inner City Bypass Stage 2 (Karo Drive, new on-ramp and Vivian St one way eastbound). 

Top 'n Tales - October 1994 - the Stoke Bypass

 

Top 'n Tales October 1994

Top 'n Tales October 1994

This newsletter from the Wellington regional office of Transit NZ in 1994 focuses entirely on state highway projects in Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough, with the main feature being the design of the Stoke Bypass.  This road effectively became the main highway to the south of Nelson, taking heavy traffic out of Stoke and easing congestion approaching Nelson from the south. This newsletter notes that the design contract has been let, but construction funding not yet approved.  It notes the design would be two lanes with passing lanes, with provision for it to be a four-lane highway subsequently (it has not been four-laned as of 2023).  The Stoke Bypass was subsequently funded and opened in 2000, as a seven-kilometre highway that had originally been envisaged in the 1960s.

Other projects mentioned in this newsletter are almost all a series of minor safety improvement and asset replacement projects.

National Land Transport Programme 1994/1995 (In Transit No.56 September 1994

In Transit No 56 September 1994

Summary National Land Transport Programme 1994/1995

In Transit No.56 September 1994

In Transit No.56 September 1994

This edition of In Transit almost exclusively focuses on the National Land Transport Programme, which was at the time approved by the Minister of Transport following commitments from the Minister of Finance. This was an era with a strong focus on economic efficiency and improving the quality of spending on the road network, so funding for new works was tight (8.2% of total spending, with another 15.5% on committed capital works). 

Key highlights were:

• A focus on safety, cost effective maintenance, refinement of project evaluation (to ensure a rational analysis of social, environmental and economic benefits, ensuring competitive pricing procedures generate efficiency gains, and maximise the return from assets under Transit NZ control (the state highway network). 
• Funding increased to enable Transit NZ to continue to fund projects down to a Benefit/Cost Ratio of 5.0 (which was the threshold for the previous year). This is less than Transit NZ requested (it sought $675.8m to lower the threshold to between 4 and 5, but received $655.81m, up from $635.81 the previous year). 
• New works funding excluding State Highway property was $55.9m, on top of existing commitments of $105m.
• Funding approved for local roading was marginally higher than requested, as was funding for state highway safety projects, but funding for state highways was lower than requested, almost entirely for new construction and property purchases.
• Funding for public transport was the same as requested, but split between passenger services (operational subsidies) and a small allocation for new works.
• Transit NZ confirmed its commitment to sealing all state highways by 2002 (as previously noted this has not been achieved in 2023), with priority given to SH12 Waipoua Forest, SH25 Coromandel and SH6 Haast Pass.

Outside the NLTP process this newsletter reports that Transit NZ provisionally approved funding for extending Auckland's suburban rail network to a new station at Britomart, of $5.8m. At the time the project had an estimated cost of $17m. It was noted that a decision had to be made when the lease on Auckland Railway Station was to run out at the end of 1994. 

Connections August 1994

 

Connections August 1994

Connections August 1994

The Hamilton Regional Office published a newsletter called Connections, this is the first edition. It summarises progress on a range of projects in the Waikato region. Of historical note are:

• Upgrades to SH25 around the Coromandel Peninsula including completing the sealing of the highway!
• Three major SH1 projects that all comprised part of the Waikato Expressway and were the first stages of the expressway.

Other projects listed include realignments at Mangaiti Hill south of Tokoroa, Tuahu realignment south of Atiamuri (both on SH1), Chinaman's Hill realignment and Te Kawa Crossroads on SH3, and the Whakahora Deviation on SH27.  Altogether it highlights how many relatively small, but high value projects were being advanced with Benefit Cost Ratios of 5 and above in the region, primarily because they would reduce serious accidents.

SH25

In 1994, there was concern about the need to make the only highway around the Coromandel Peninsula safer and more resilient. A key part of this is sealing the section from Whitianga to Coromandel to enable a sustainable and attractive tourist route.  

SH1

The term "Waikato Expressway" had not been coined yet, but Transit NZ had already made a strategic decision to plan for a four-lane highway between Auckland and Cambridge.  The three projects mentioned are under construction, out to tender and under design respectively:

• Tamahere Deviation: 3.5km of expressway south of Hamilton at the intersection with Airport Road, justified due to the poor accident record, but showed some considerable foresight to build the first segment of expressway in Waikato.  Note the construction cost of only $9 million.
• Mangatawhiri Bridge Realignment: This segment south of Pokeno eliminated a sharp and narrow section of highway (now Pioneer Rd).  Noting that it took 2.5 years of loading on the ground due to the soft soils, which would prove to be an issue for other segments of road in this area, and was a short four-lane segment designed to connect with..
• Pokeno Bypass: Hard to believe now, but in 1994 SH1 went through Pokeno.  The new 4km bypass connecting directly with the (then) recently opened Bombay Hills Interchange would, with the Mangatawhiri project, effectively extend the expressway south to Mercer,  As with other early segments, the accident rate in Pokeno, plus travel time and fuel savings made this a highly efficient project to advance.

In Transit July 1994

In Transit No 54 July 1994

In Transit No 54 July 1994

In Transit No54 July 1994

In Transit No.54 July 1994

In this issue:

• Expansion of competitive tendering to all minor and ancillary work, including that for local authorities, and including what is needed for Local Authority Trading Enterprises to be eligible to tender for such work.
• "Adopt-a-Highway" programme for local communities to support landscaping highways
• Removal of the designation for the Christchurch Northern Arterial
• Electronic road pricing trials in Singapore

The latter two points may be of more historical interest. 

Christchurch Northern Arterial designation removal

The removal of the designation which was originally for a motorway is significant as it meant that there was next to no likelihood of a motorway/expressway heading to the northern edge of the Christchurch CBD. No doubt had it remained, there would have been some resistance to a motorway extending to Bealey Avenue.

The reason for the removal was that Transit NZ believed Cranford St would be adequate to meet demand over the long term along with a belief that an arterial road that included the cost of removing the housing on the designation would be unlikely to be economically viable. It was noted that the designation would remain to the north (in largely rural land), which of course was subsequently used for the Christchurch Northern Corridor motorway extension.

The designation was one of the many motorway designations placed in New Zealand cities in the 1950s and 1960s, except of course in Auckland, many were built, whereas Christchurch's Northern Motorway in the 1970s was at the city outskirts and largely consisted of a bypass for Kaiapoi.

Singapore Electronic Road Pricing trials

In 1994 Singapore had been operating a manually enforced paper-based congestion pricing cordon in its CBD since 1975, but at this point was trialling electronic road pricing to implement wider corridor based congestion pricing using electronic On Board Units, with prepaid smart cards for payment. These trials led to full implementation of the ERP system in 1998, which remains the world's most efficient and effective congestion pricing scheme.

Coast to Coast Volume 1 June 1994

 

Coast to Coast Volume 1, June 1994 Pg.1

Coast to Coast Volume 1, June 1994 Pg.2

In addition to In Transit, regional offices of Transit New Zealand would also issue their own newsletters. This is the first published by the Christchurch Regional Office.  Some of its highlights are:

• Investigation into two major bridges on SH73 in Arthurs Pass. The Otira Viaduct and the new White Bridge. (Both subsequently built).
• Design of the widening of the Pareora River bridge on SH1 south of Timaru
• Removal of the designation for the Christchurch Northern Arterial between Bealey Avenue and the Northcote-New Brighton expressway (now called Queen Elizabeth II drive), this effectively removed the option for a northern urban motorway from the edge of central Christchurch, through St Albans and Mairehau to the recently built Northern Arterial that starts on Cranford Street.  
• Construction progressing on the Temuka Bypass.

In Transit May 1994

In Transit No.52 May 1994 Pg.1

In Transit No.52 May 1994 Pg.2

In Transit No.52 May 1994 Pg.3

In Transit No.52 May 1994 Pg.4

Funding

The most historically interesting point in this issue is the publishing of Transit New Zealand's budget request for the National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) 1994/1995. At the time the policy around land transport funding had some key elements that differ from today:

• Transit New Zealand would seek its final budget from the Minister of Finance as part of the standard annual budget process (with the Minister of Transport expected to be the advocate for Transit New Zealand in Cabinet).  There was no effective hypothecated National Land Transport Fund which automatically funded the agency.
• National Land Transport Programmes are annual, but previously approved projects would be considered "commitments" once they are contracted.
• An "interim" NLTP is automatically approved at 97% of the budget of the previous year, this is to give Transit New Zealand (and local authorities) certainty that they would have enough funding to progress road maintenance, sustain public transport subsidies and undertake contractual commitments for capital works. This had changed somewhat from only two years before when the budget was cut substantially along with many other areas of funding, as the Government sought to address a ballooning budget deficit.  This had caused difficulties in managing road maintenance, so the 97% guarantee gave certainty to contractors that most routine activities would continue.  The previous year's NLTP notes "deferred maintenance" funding which resulted from cutbacks in maintenance that required greater spending to fix, a classic "false economy". 
• The 97% budget was not a 97% budget for each work category, but was decided by the Board to balance out how best to spend that level of funding. As seen it tended to fully fund maintenance, commitments and public transport subsidies, with new construction, pavement rehabilitation and property purchases for future works deferred.
• Most new work funding was subject to crossing a benefit/cost ratio threshold, which in the 1993/1994 was 5.5. The proposal for 1994/1995 was a threshold of 4.0-5.0, and also for 1995/1996, with the goal for 1996/1997 being to lower it to between 3.0 and 4.0. 
• Outputs/work categories are define by inputs and by the board, not by a political process. There is a great deal of transparency and comparability between work categories.

Transit New Zealand's view of the appropriate total level of funding was that required to meet a threshold of BCRs of 2.0, but notably it did not seek that funding because:

• A large programme of new works for the contacting sector would be inefficient, as it had scaled down over recent years. The proposed increases in funding were expected to be at a scale to enable the sector to expand without overly inflating costs.
• Local government would be unable to meet its local share of costs of its projects
• The Resource Management Act requires considerable planning and consultation for such projects.

It's worth remembering that this is a budget request, the formal automatic hypothecation of funding had not been introduced at this point.  The previous year budget exc. GST was $635.81m.

Some points of comparison in funding to today.

The recommended 1994/1995 NLTP was a total of $675.8m exc. GST, in 2022 values that is around $1.266b.

The 2021/2024 NLTP covers three years, and does not have an easy to read table like in this document, but to compare. The total spending is $24.3b, but that includes funding from local authorities (which is not in the 1995 NLTP proposal).  Without local authority shares it is $19.5b and then divided by three it is around $6.5b per annum. This indicates that in real terms, there is now five times the spending on land transport by central government in 2023 than in 1995. 

Competitive tendering

The other notable article in this leaflet is that by 1997 there is intended to be full competitive tendering for all activities funded by the agency for local government, having already implemented it for major works. It notes that local authority business units have become significantly more efficient in recent years due to competitive tendering.  One local authority (not identified) noted savings of 47.5% through contracting minor and ancillary work to the private sector.  It was also noted that no local authorities wanted to revert to the pre-1991 system which enabled local authorities to supply services directly without tendering. 

In Transit April 1994

 

I have a series of copies of In-Transit newsletter from the 1990s which I will upload from time to time.

Notable in this issue are:

• SH2 realignment at Mt Bruce, featuring efforts by Transit NZ to protect what is now called the Pukaha Wildlife Centre.
• Comparison of New Zealand's reform experience (by this point) with some other jurisdictions, which noted NZ is well ahead of many
• Endorsement of the "Sandhills" route through Kapiti (which ultimately became the route of the Kapiti Expressway) and announcement of a study to assess improvements to SH1 between Porirua and Kapiti
• Investigation of earthquake proofing of the Wellington Urban Motorway over bridge
• Noting a study that indicated that a Levin bypass was not justified
• Noting that a major upgrade of Rimutaka Hill Road would not proceed for around 20 years

SH2 Wairarapa: The Mount Bruce realignment project had a high benefit/cost ratio, but was at a sensitive location. The lead article focused on how the roadworks progressed to minimise harm to the wildlife at the reserve. 

Reform: An article followed a series of conferences and meetings indicating that the funding evaluation process applied by Transit New Zealand was superior to that seen elsewhere. It was noted that assessment of maintenance budgets was more advanced in New Zealand than in other countries. Of other matters of note, a trial of congestion pricing in Cambridge (UK) is noted, based on travel time and distance, and how to contract for toll roads with private sector financing, with some concerns over not being able to introduce competition into service delivery.  PPPs at the time overseas primarily involving a single long-term partner, raising questions about how to manage the handover of assets after the concession has concluded.

SH1 Kapiti: Transit New Zealand sought to address congestion issues on SH1 north of Porirua, and so commenced investigations on a Pukerua Bay Bypass (which did not proceed ultimately because of Transmission Gully), four-landing Pukerua Bay to Plimmerton (which did proceed as it had a high benefit/cost ratio primarily due to safety benefits), increasing traffic efficiency along Mana Esplanade (which did proceed) and improvements to intersections of SH1 in Paraparaumu (which did proceed). The report noted the preservation of the historic "Sandhills Motorway" designation in Kapiti, which dated from 1950s proposals for a Wellington-Levin motorway, and much of which ultimately was used for the Kapiti Expressway.  

SH1 Wellington: Transit New Zealand undertook a major review of the earthquake resilience of the Thorndon overbridge of the Wellington Urban Motorway, and concluded that it should be strengthened to cope with an earthquake of 6.5-7, with a 7-15% likelihood within 50 years. Strengthening the overbridge to cope with a greater earthquake than that was seen to be unlikely to be effective.  This project would subsequently get funded, notwithstanding that it would not meet the funding threshold from a benefit/cost appraisal, because the Transit New Zealand board was convinced resilience was not adequately valued.

SH1 Horowhenua: A transportation study on a bypass for Levin reported the benefit/cost ratio would "only" be 1.3-2.5, which was far below the fundable threshold in 1994.  Of course today that would be a level that could support funding. A designation from Queen St, Levin to Waitarere Beach Road was to be retained.  Preliminary funding approval for a bypass of Levin, as part of the extension of the Kapiti Expressway from north of Otaki, was granted, but is being reviewed.

SH2 Wellington-Wairarapa: An investigation of a major upgrade of Rimutaka Hill Road indicated it would not proceed within 20 years (by 2014) without an additional source of funding. The proposal was a 70km/h design speed with passing lanes and sealed shoulders at a price then of $25m.  Since then there have been some upgrades of the route, but it is still far from being a 70km/h route!

Finishing sealing the state highways?

In Transit February 1994

Hard as it is to believe, but the state highway network is to this day not fully sealed.  Ten km of State Highway 43 is not sealed today in 2023, although funding to address this was approved in 2019. State Highway 43.  Two of the twelve kilometres of the highway has been sealed recently, and the remaining work will be completed in 2024. This has taken quite some time, as the InTransit newsletter from the then State Highway manager (and funding agency), Transit New Zealand indicated. Transit New Zealand wanted to seal all of the state highways by 2002, with this headline story noting that SH87 Dunedin to Middlemarch, SH38 to Lake Waikaremoana and SH43 Stratford to Taumarunui had not been sealed.

However, these weren't the priority. Top priority was SH6 Haast Pass, which is extraordinary as this is the only road connection from the West Coast to Otago and Southland. This was followed by SH12 through the Waipoua Forest and SH25 around the Coromandel Peninsula. It is rather extraordinary to think that these roads were unsealed in considerable part 30 years ago.

SH6, SH12 and SH25 had sealing completed in the subsequent eight years, but SH87, 38 and 43 took more time.

SH87 Dunedin to Middlemarch was sealed in the late 1990s, noting that it had been neglected in part because the Otago Central Railway was seen as the key corridor, but that had been closed in 1990 and the remaining segment used for tourist excursions. There was definitely an element of political decision making to put some road improvements on a low priority to try to save rail.  A similar argument would have been made around SH43 Stratford to Taumarunui which until recently had a relatively well used railway line in operation, connecting Taranaki to Waikato and Auckland (with passenger rail service operating until 1983), and which until the 1990s had a freight terminal at Ohura. That railway line is mothballed, but undoubtedly its presence would have seen proposals to seal the parallel state highway as appearing to be wasteful.

SH38 Lake Waikaremoana was sealed subsequently, although it is important to remember that 198km of the route through the Urewera National Park is not state highway and is unsealed.

SH43 Tangarakau Gorge remains partly unsealed.

The attached report reflects a survey undertaken of local authorities and the tourism sector on priorities for sealing roads, at a time of tight budgets.  Notable was priority given to sealing Glenorchy Road around Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown, and the Crown Range route, all of which proceeded in the 1990s as growth in tourism was seen as a national priority.  The Catlins route along the Otago-Southland coastline is also included in this and has no doubt opened up that scenic region to many more visitors (and again much of that area had a railway line until 1971 that would have influenced political decision making around upgrading a road when a marginal railway line was in operation). 

It is worth noting that at this time, when the funding threshold for road projects was high (a benefit-cost ratio of better than 5:1 required) sealing the state highways was seen as a strategically important project even though it had a poor BCR. In most cases the benefits were seen as mainly being reduced maintenance costs over 25 years, improved travel times and some improved safety, but wider economic benefits were not included in appraisal. It might be argued that having sealed these roads they induced more traffic which increased economic opportunities for tourism-supported businesses much further afield (e.g. encouraging self-drive travel between the West Coast and Wanaka/Queenstown). 

This is a reminder of the strict austerity around road capital spending by central government at this time, and indeed ho much government historically did not spend significantly on many state highways over decades if they were not seen as economically or politically significant.