National Land Transport Programme 1996 - Wellington regional office (Wellington, Nelson, Tasman, Marlborough)

 

Top n Tales August 1995

NLTP 1996 - Wellington regional allocation

NLTP 1996 - Wellington state highway and local road projects

Top n Tales August 1995

The Wellington regional office newsletter covering the 1996 NLTP covers both Wellington and the Nelson/Tasman/Marlborough region's funding from Transit New Zealand.  Funding for the NLTP was nearly $47.4m for Wellington and $24.4m for Nelson/Tasman/Marlborough.

Wellington was noted as having the second highest allocation for passenger transport at just over $10m, with the remainder of funding slightly higher for state highways than for local roads. Nelson/Tasman/Marlborough's funding was predominantly for state highways. 

By far the biggest project in the Wellington region was the Newlands Interchange on SH1, which removed the last set of traffic lights on SH1 out of Wellington until the end of the motorway beyond the Mungavin Interchange.  Also of note was funding for the first stage of the Wellington Inner City Bypass, which simply converted Buckle Street and Vivian Street into a one-way pair east of Taranaki Street (feeding onto Vivian and Ghuznee Streets respectively).  It would be nearly ten years before the second stage of the Inner City Bypass would be funded, due to vocal opposition. The largest local road project in Wellington region was reconstruction of the Kent/Cambridge Terrace/Courtenay Place intersection (which is now due to be reconstructed again following decisions in Let's Get Wellington Moving). 

In Nelson/Tasman/Marlborough by far the biggest project was funding for seal extensions in Marlborough and Tasman. The largest state highway project in that region was the committed Whangamoa North Deviation on SH6.

National Land Transport Programme 1996 - Waikato/Bay of Plenty regional office newsletter

 

Connections Newsletter August 1995

NLTP 1996 Waikato/BOP maintenance and safety improvements

NLTP 1996 - Waikato/BOP Bridge renewals, new construction, investigation and design projects

NLTP 1996 - Waikato/BOP investigation/design projects and commitments, with overall summary

The Hamilton regional office of Transit New Zealand covered both Waikato and the Bay of Plenty . This newsletter highlighted spending in both regions for the 1996 NLTP.  $96.9m was allocated for Waikato and $32.4m for the Bay of Plenty, with higher funding for any region outside Auckland.

In both regions state highway funding predominated, although local road funding was around two-thirds that for state highways.  A significant proportion of funding was for previously committed projects to the extent that no new state highway construction projects were approved (except safety improvement projects).

Notable was an explanation about the increase in seal extension funding (seen all across the country):

"Approximately 20 kilometres of road will be sealed in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty during 1995/96. This is a dramatic increase over the 4 kilometres of seal extensions completed in 1994/95 and is largely a result of TNZ's new evaluation procedures now placing a value on the" comfort factor that users assign to travelling on scaled roads"

Notable projects included:

• Earthquake Flat realignment SH5 Rotorua
• Pokeno Bypass SH1 (commitment)
• Pukete Arterial, Hamilton City (commitment) 
• Mangaiti Hill Realignment, SH1 South Waikato (commitment)
• SH25 seal completion (commitment)
• Mangatawhiri Bridge realignment SH1 (commitment)
• Tamahere Interchange SH1 (commitment)

Also noted is extensive funding for investigation and design work on projects such as SH38 seal extension, Katikati Bypass SH2 (which has not proceeded) and four laning of state highways in Rotorua.  Indicative is an extensive commitment to funding small scale safety projects across local and state highway networks.

National Land Transport Programme 1996 - Napier regional office newsletter (Gisborne/Hawke's Bay regions)

 

Avenues August 1995 edition

NLTP 1996 regional allocations Hawke's Bay/Gisborne

NLTP 1996 new construction projects Gisborne/Hawke's Bay

NLTP 1996 summary of allocations Gisborne/Hawke's Bay

The Napier regional office of Transit New Zealand covered both Hawke's Bay and Gisborne. This newsletter highlighted spending in both regions for the 1996 NLTP.  $28.5m was allocated for Hawke's Bay and $19.5m for Gisborne, indicating a significantly higher proportion of funding per capita for Gisborne than Hawke's Bay, as funding was driven essentially by need.

In both regions nearly as much was funded for local roads as for state highways, indicating the scale of maintenance and renewals needed across the road networks of both regions. Funding for passenger transport was low with less for Hawke's Bay than Gisborne, presumably dominated by paratransit provision with most other passenger transport being commercially provided.

By far the biggest project was the commitment to complete the Elands-Glengarry realignment on SH5 (Napier-Taupo road) at $4.51m, but there are also seal extensions in Gisborne district worth over $1m and around $1.3m in emergency works in both Gisborne and Wairoa districts for local roads. 

The biggest new construction project was local, with the Tapuaeroa Seal Extension, Part II in Gisborne district. with only two intersection upgrade projects on the State Highway network approved.  Interestingly the Pilchers Road intersection upgrade on SH2, is now on SH51 (as SH2 was shifted to the completed Hawke's Bay Expressway) on a section of road subsequently reduced in speed limit to 80km/h. 

Once again, this shows Transit New Zealand's commitment to uplifting the quality of the local road network, in partnership with territorial authorities willing to provide matching funds. Projects ranged from seal extensions to bridge replacements and roundabouts to improve safety.  Notable is the beginning of the project to extend seal on the Napier-Taihape Road in Hastings District (which ultimately would see the road fully sealed in the early 2010s). 

At the planning stage is significant spending on investigation and design for what was then called the Napier-Hastings Motorway (latterly the Hawke's Bay Expressway) for the extensions to Hastings (Omahu Rd) and the Airport, as well as the Kennedy Road Interchange to replace the previous accident prone traffic light controlled intersection.  Those projects would all be funded in the subsequent five or so years, seeing the major highway in Hawke's Bay shift from being through central Hastings and along the Napier foreshore to a two-lane expressway bypassing both Hastings and Napier, with two grade-separated intersections. 

National Land Transport Programme 1996 - Whanganui regional office newsletter (Taranaki, Manawatu-Whanganui)

 

Translink August 1995

NLTP 1996 Taranaki/Manawatu-Whanganui new projects

NLTP 1996 Taranaki/Manawatu-Whanganui new projects

NLTP 1996 Taranaki/Manawatu-Whanganui summary

Translink was the newsletter for the Wanganui regional office of Transit New Zealand, covering Manawatu-Whanganui and Taranaki regions. This edition on the NLTP 1996 noted the following spending in the regions:

• $40.5m total in Manawatu/Wanganui
• $18.2m total in Taranaki
• $30.7m  to be spend on local roads maintenance and capital (the majority of spending in the region)
• $262,000 for passenger transport funding

Major new projects (over $1m) include:

• Maxwell to Bushy Park Road Stage III realignment SH3 Whanganui;
• Laws Hill Realignment SH57 south of Shannon;
• Pipiriki Rd seal extension in Ruapehu District.

Other key projects noted were:

• Seal extension SH43 of 2.2km (representing the start of sealing this State Highway, which was still not fully completed in 2023!)
• Continuing the Potts Hill realignment SH57 north of Levin
• Completing Greatford realignment SH1 north of Bulls
• Completing 4-laning of Manawatu River Bridge and Fitzherbert Avenue Palmerston North

Notable is the relatively high spending on local roads in the region. State highway spending predominantly is focused on realignments, but the 4-laning of Manawatu River Bridge and Fitzherbert Avenue was about relieving congestion in Palmerston North between Massey University and the rest of the city.  

National Land Transport Programme 1996 - Canterbury regional newsletter

 

Coast to Coast August 1995 issue

NLTP 1996 Canterbury/West Coast regional allocation

NLTP 1996 Canterbury/West Coast major projects

NLTP 1996 Canterbury/West Coast summary

In the Canterbury/West Coast newsletter the first page is a national summary, but beyond that key points include:

• $54.7m funding for Canterbury
• $18.2m funding for the West Coast
• $28m of spending is for local roads in both regions
• $2.5m of spending is for passenger transport in Canterbury, $23,200 for the West Coas

Main projects listed include:

• Cass River bridge replacement SH73
• Windy Point realignment SH7
• Completion of SH1 Timaru bypass

A large number of small state highway and local road safety, bridge replacement and cycling projects are also included, indicating the relatively high value given to safety projects at the time. Notably funding for the Otira Viaduct was only for the design phase, as the project did not meet the funding threshold for construction.

National Land Transport Programme 1996 - Otago/Southland regional newsletter

 

Transnews - Transit NZ Dunedin regional office newsletter August 1995

1996 NLTP Otago/Southland highlights

1996 NLTP Otago/Southland table of new projects

NLTP Otago/Southland committed pre-construction works and overall allocations

Following announcement of the NLTP, various Transit New Zealand regional offices published newsletters highlighting spending in their regions, not just on the State Highways, but also local roads and passenger transport. A key point from this newsletter from a national perspective is that in 1996 Transit New Zealand identified $0.75 billion worth of projects with a benefit/cost ratio between 2 and 5 that are unable to be funded, essentially indicating efficient projects worth proceeding with.  

For Otago/Southland this newsletter reported the following major funding points:

• $48 million to be spent in Otago and $23 million in Southland
• $34.4 million to be spent on local roads (excluding territorial authority share)
• $1.1 million to subsidise passenger transport in Otago and $320,000 in Southland

Major projects listed include:

• Completing sealing of SH87 (Last Creck-Central Otago District Boundary Seal Extn)
• 14km of seal extension on the Southern Scenic Route (Catlins) of the 40km unsealed at the time
• 8km of the 40km of unsealed Glenorchy Road to be sealed
• Three bridge renewal projects on the largely unsealed Crown Range Road
• SH1 Hillgrove-Katiki Realignment (committed work)
• SH1 McArthur's Bends Realignment (committed work)

Notable was that funding at the time was similar for local roads as for state highways, which in real terms meant almost double spending on local roads when the local share is taken into account (the 50% paid mostly by ratepayers).  Also notable was design funding for major projects for the Dunedin Southern Motorway, being the Fairfield Bypass and the East Taieri (Mosgiel) interchange.

In Transit August 1995 No.66 - Manawatu Gorge and other roads damaged by storms - and announcement of the National Land Transport Programme

 

In Transit August 1995 No.66

The closure of SH3 in the Manawatu Gorge in 2017 due to slips was of course not the first occasion the road had been subject to significant damage. This edition of InTransit highlights a series of roads closed due to storm damage, including two major slips in Manawatu Gorge (one consisting of 5000 cubic metres of material).  The road was closed for nearly three weeks whilst it was cleared.  Other roads closed at this time of year included the Desert Road for 9.5 days, noting it wasn't worthwhile to have snowplows for on average a few days a year, especially since there are viable diversion routes bypassing the Desert Road.

Other features of this newsletter included:

• Target to seal all State Highways by 2002, which has still not been achieved in 2023.
• Approval for the final National Land Transport Programme in 1996, sustaining the Benefit/Cost Ratio for new capital projects at 5:1 (with $43 million to start new construction projects).  Key projects highlighted included more spending on sealing unsealed roads and planning for major projects, including the Auckland Automated Traffic Management System and the Napier-Hastings Motorway extension (latterly called expressway, and consisted of the extension from Pakowhai Road to Omaha Road (Hastings).   Note the difference between sustaining a BCR of 5 and lowering it to 4 (for new projects) was merely $17m, but at the time this was wholly determined by Cabinet as part of the budgetary process.
• Bulls Bypass designation revoked. It was decided that a long-standing bypass designation on the north-eastern side of Bulls (for SH1) would be revoked, because the BCR for the project would only be 1.3, meaning it was not seen likely to be funded for 10-20 years.  Peak Christmas traffic saw only minor increases in delays.

In Transit April 1995 No. 62 - Restructuring of Transit New Zealand

 

In Transit April 1995 Pg1

In Transit April 1995 Pg2

In Transit April 1995 Pg3

In Transit April 1995 Pg4

The April 1995 edition of In Transit focused on internal restructuring of the agency into six divisions, which essentially foreshadowed the pending split of its land transport funding functions into Transfund New Zealand.  At the time Transit New Zealand was very much opposed to losing its funding functions, and this restructuring was, in part, designed to demonstrate to Ministers and MPs that it wasn't essential to set up a new land transport funding agency when Transit New Zealand could structurally separate internally.  Ultimately Ministers weren't convinced, as it was seen that there was a conflict of interest between Transit New Zealand being the largest recipient of National Land Transport Programme funds and also being the entity deciding on the allocation of those funds.  

The language used in this newsletter clearly indicates the intention of General Manager Robin Dunlop "Dr Dunlop is confident that this will remove any potential conflict of interest that may have been perceived to exist within Transit's previous structure".  Today Waka Kotahi/New Zealand Transport Agency is once again an integrated state highway manager and funding agency, as well as land transport regulatory authority.

Elsewhere this newsletter highlights:

• Completion of the SH1 Tamahere Deviation south of Hamilton, one of the first parts of the Waikato Expressway
• Noting the Authority visiting Waikato where it discussed the Pokeno Bypass, four-laning of SH1 from Ohinewai to Cambridge, Kopu Bridge (ultimately replaced over a decade later) and the Morrinsville Bypass (never built).
• All state highways to be tested for skid resistance
• Celebration of the completion of sealing of SH6 Haast Pass

In Transit June 1995 - No. 64 - Future National Land Transport Programme

 

In Transit June 1995 Pg1 

In Transit June 1995 Pg2

In Transit June 1995 Pg3

In Transit June 1995 Pg4

First apologies, as you'll see Page 2 has been "checked" by someone who was very young at the time (!), but it is still largely legible.

This edition of InTransit focused on preparing readers for the forthcoming announcement of the National Land Transport Programme.  The decision was to be made in the July meeting of the Authority ("board") following the decision by Cabinet as to how much funding would be available (on top of the 97% of previous year's budget guaranteed) for the Programme - that decision was for $675.8M (Transit NZ requested $692.8M).  The Board then gets to revise its list of projects and funding by output class, before getting final approval from the Minister as to the amounts by output class.  The level of funding approved by Government was sufficient to retain capital project funding at a BCR of 5.0

The edition notes the importance of having a dedicated fund (which was announced as Government policy but not yet implemented). This edition highlights the issue of the Otira Viaduct being up for funding, although its BCR was below the threshold of 5 applicable at the time, the project was essentially about resilience, because without its construction, the Otira Gorge zigzag would be destroyed due to erosion. 

Other key points in this edition:

• Description of two new techniques to treat road surface flushing (when the surface becomes slick due to bitumen rising above the stone chips), including the use of more chips per litre of binder and the recycling of the old seal by milling it into little segments.
• Tour of the Authority of issues in Wellington, notably SH1 north of Paremata, Newlands Interchange and other prospective projects.
• Variable speed limits being investigated for SH1 Ngauranga Gorge due to accidents caused by motorists driving at 100km/h in the wrong conditions. 
• Contract has been let to build the $12m Pokeno Bypass (a key early part of the Waikato Expressway).