In Transit - July 1998 - No. 93 - Flood damage and summary of state highway funding under 1999 National Roading Programme

The July 1998 edition of InTransit primarily focused on repairs to flood damaged highways in Taranaki, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Auckland and Northland.  However, it also included a summary of state highway funding under the 1999 National Roading Programme, funded by Transfund NZ at the time.

Highlights were:

• $444.2m of funding for the year for Transit NZ for all of its work, around half of all funding going to Transit NZ, the remainder going to local authorities for local roads and public transport.
• $221m of Transit's funding was for state highway maintenance
• The funding threshold for new projects was maintained at a BCR of 4:1. 
• Projects separated into Category 1 (approved now) and Category 2 (funding approved dependent on finalising resource consents, property purchases).

New projects with approved funding were listed by region, with those mentioned (that were not already committed) including:

• Design of Grafton Gully upgrade on SH16
• Structural upgrade of Auckland Harbour Bridge to meet seismic standards
• Development of ATMS on Auckland's motorway network
• SH2 Sargants Corner realignment, Hauraki District
• SH5 Rotorua Stockpile Curves realignment
• SH3 Awakino realignment
• Four-laning of Old Taupo Road Rotorua (SH5)
• Route J, Tauranga (SH2)
• White Pine Bush South realignment SH2, Hastings District
• Glengarry Hill realignment SH5, Hastings District
• SH3A South Clearview Curves realignment, New Plymouth District
• Urenui Bridge replacement SH3, New Plymouth District
• Investigation/planning for SH1 4-laning, realignment from Plimmerton to Pukerua Bay, Porirua City
• Maisey-Bronte realignment SH60, Tasman District
• Candy's Bend to Starvation Point realignment, SH73
• SH1 Hawkswood Deviation near Cheviot
• Six single-lane bridge widenings SH6 Makaroa
• SH1 Gore Main Street improvements
• SH1 Fairfield Motorway Dunedin (extension of Southern Motorway beyond Green Island)

In Transit - March 1998 - No. 89 - Mobile phone dangers and preparation needed for major state highway projects

The March 1988 edition of InTransit highlights the growing dangers of mobile phone use on road safety, noting a paper to be delivered at a forthcoming conference reporting "mobile-phone users who make more than three calls per trip have nearly three times as many injury accidents and twice as many fatal accidents as those who never use a mobile phone".

At the time the then Land Transport Safety Authority noted that there were more crashes due to people lighting a cigarette or adjusting a car stereo than a mobile phone, but of course the numbers of the public with mobile phones in 1998 were still relatively modest.  A smaller article on the second page notes a Canadian paper that mobile phone use increases driving danger as much as drunk driving.  In 1998 there was no specific offence in New Zealand of driving whilst using a mobile phone.

Other notable articles in this edition are:

• A major project update noting progress on the following projects:
• Stage One Kamo Bypass, SH1, Whangarei (subsequently completed)
• Orewa Bridge replacement, SH1 Rodney District (completed the following month)
• Albany-Silverdale (ALPURT), SH1 Auckland, construction contracts let, resource consents sought for Silverdale to Puhoi (subsequently discontinued as the project was reprioritised and redesigned to be a toll road).
• Mercer-Cambridge four laning (later dubbed the Waikato Expressway). Designations sought for Mercer to Ohinewai, and corridor options being considered for Ohinewai to Cambridge. At the time it was thought the project would be completed in 2010, but was completed in 2022.
• Kopu Bridge replacement, SH25. Expected to be completed 2002, it was actually completed 2011.
• Hawke's Bay Motorway (later Expressway). Pakowhai to Hastings under construction, the York Road  (bypassing Hastings) extension under design. Full completion expected 1999 (which was true for those sections, but the final extension south was not completed until 2011).
• Vinegar Hill realignment, SH1 Manawatu. Under construction and was completed 1999
• Newlands Interchange, SH1 Wellington, under construction and completed late 1998
• Thorndon Motorway Viaduct seismic strengthening SH1, Wellington, under construction and completed 1999 (images included in this edition).
• Stoke Bypass, SH6 Nelson. Work commenced and would be completed on schedule in 2000.
• Otira Viaduct, SH73 Canterbury, Work underway and concluded in 1999
• Fairfield Bypass SH1 Dunedin, Route designation and resource consent applications lodged. Project would be completed in 2003.
• Success of the Thorndon motorway viaduct seismic strengthening project, designed to ensure it can survive a 1 in 500 year earthquake of up to seven on the Richter scale.
• Article describing the process (in 1998) of developing a major highway project before construction could begin, the stages being:
• Strategic planning
• Investigation
• Design
• Planning approval
• Land purchase
• Construction
• Transit NZ adopting new standards on road lighting.

In Transit - November 1997 - No. 86 - Summary of construction work commencing that summer

 

With the uplift in funding over the previous two years (lowering the benefit/cost ratio threshold of land transport funding capital works from 5 to 4.5 to 4:1), this edition of In Transit focused mostly on the construction work continuing and starting around the country at the end of 1997.  Perhaps what may be of interest today is the relatively modest price of so much construction work at the time, as even taking into account inflation (CPI) prices would be much more than the 88% increase since then, today.  Even on wage inflation of x 2.49, the costs of construction look modest. 

Key projects underway were:

• ALPURT (Albany-Silverdale extension of the Northern Motorway) enabling works, with opening expected in 2000 (and the whole route to Puhoi by 2002, which did not happen as funding priorities were changed following the change of government in 1999, seeing work terminate for several years at Orewa - and the Puhoi segment redesigned into a higher quality route and made into the first toll road under the Land Transport Management Act).  Budget at the time for the whole project was $175m
• Orewa bridge replacement (to be open February 1998).
• Te Here curves realignment, SH1 Waikato to be completed March 1998 ($750k)
• Napier-Hastings motorway extension (which did not become a legal motorway but rather classified as expressway). Essentially a two-lane limited access highway built from Pakowhai to Hastings along the long standing Hawke's Bay motorway corridor protected since the 1960s. Including the Ngaruroro River Bridge, the cost was $10.3m, and was described as the largest single road project in the region since the Runanga Deviation on SH5 in the late 1960s.  This provided a direct faster route from Napier to Hastings, especially as Omaha Road is adjacent to the main Hawke's Bay regional hospital. It was a 7.7km new road with a 323m bridge.
• Vinegar Hill realignment SH1 near Hunterville, at $5.8m. Includes 4.4km of new highway.
• Laws Hill realignment SH57 near Shannon at $3.5m, includes 2.5km of new highway and passing lane.
• Newlands Interchange Wellington SH1, at $17m
• Stoke Bypass Nelson SH6, at $26.2m including 7km of new road including grade separation and passing lanes.
• Otira Viaduct SH73 at $25m.
• Hawks Crag rock clearance SH6 Buller Gorge
• Tumai Realignment SH1 north of Dunedin at $2.8m, including 2.5km of realignment and a 800m passing lane
• Gorge Creek bluffs realignment SH8 between Alexandra and Roxburgh at $650k

Also mentioned is a sample of rough textured stone use for sealing road in Hawke's Bay to improve skid resistance and Transit's support for a speed enforcement campaign.

In Transit - August 1996 - No. 75 - 18% increase in state highway spending and Transfund separates from Transit

The August 1996 issue of In Transit is the first edition of the Transit NZ newsletter to be published after the agency's funding functions were transferred to Transfund NZ.  This issue focused primarily on the state highway funding provided by the 1996 National Roading Programme.  Key highlights of that were:

• 18% increase in state highway funding compared to the previous year
• New projects to be funded include:
• Hastings extension of the 2-lane Napier-Hastings Motorway (bypassing Pakowhai to terminate on the outskirts of Hastings). This would later be redesignated as the "Hawke's Bay Expressway" and see SH2 relocated to this route.
• Stoke Bypass SH6 Nelson
• Albany-Silverdale extension to the Auckland Northern Motorway as the first stage of the ALPURT project
• Otira Viaduct SH73 Canterbury to bypass the treacherous zig-zag section in Arthurs Pass
• BCR threshold for project funding had been lowered from 5 to 4.5 and was expected to be 4 the following year

The newsletter also notes that the split between Transfund and Transit means "Transit can focus its energies on being the national manager of the state highway network". It was noted it would enable the agency to focus more on its professional expertise including development of a state highway strategy, so that the network was developed in a co-ordinated way.

Other points in the newsletter included:

• Progress in the State Highway Review (which reviews which roads should or should not be State Highways). Noting that the Review proposed revoking State Highway status for SH1 from the entrance of the Port of Bluff to the southern tip due to the lack of tourist traffic
• Colder weather explaining more closures of Desert Road (noting postponement of a trial of using road salt)
• Various conferences

In Transit August 1996 p1

In Transit August 1996 p2

In Transit August 1996 p3

In Transit August 1996 p4

1996 National Roading Programme: Canterbury/West Coast NRP news

The Canterbury/West Coast Transfund newsletter highlighted spending in the first National Roading Programme issued by Transfund New Zealand. Key statistics included:

• $49.24m to be spent in Canterbury
• $22.91m to be spent in the West Coast
• Local road maintenance and construction was the largest output class for Canterbury at 36.2% of spending.  Passenger transport was 7.2% of spending
• State highway maintenance and construction was the largest output class for the West Coast at 58.4% of spending.

Projects of significance on state highways included:

• Otira Viaduct on SH73. Cost of $26.1m to bypass the "zigzag" section and multiple slip and earthquake prone sections of highway, significantly improving resilience on the route.
• Craigieburn Bridge replacement on SH73 at $0.63m, replacing a single lane bridge with a history of accidents.
• Washdyke Bridge replacement on SH1 at $0.63m, which was an old two-lane stone bridge bottleneck on a three-lane section of highway.
• Additional passing lanes north of Rakaia overbridge, SH1

Projects of significance on local roads included:

• Rolleston railway crossing replacement, removing a dangerous level crossing that was the site of the infamous Southerner accident.
• Seven cycleway improvements in Christchurch City
• Committed improvements to the intersection of Moorhouse Avenue, Madras Street and Manchester Street in Christchurch City
• 1km seal extension on Inland Kaikoura Route in Kaikoura District

Unlike the Dunedin regional office newsletter, this newsletter contains detailed lists of projects approved, across State Highways 1, 73 and 6 and local road projects in Christchurch City, Hurunui District, Timaru District, Waimakariri District and Grey District.

Transfund News No. 1 July 1996 - National Roading Programme

This the very first edition of Transfund news following the launching of the Crown agency as the dedicated land transport funding agency, separated from Transit New Zealand (which remained as the state highway manager).  The edition was understandably focused on the 1996/1997 National Roading Programme, Transfund's first. It had previously been called the National Land Transport Programme reflecting funding for both roads and public transport, but the new emphasis was to reflect Transfund's role as essentially a purchaser of road maintenance and improvements, and public transport services, on behalf of motorists.

 Key elements were:

• $743.7m ($1.45b in 2023 prices) in total spending for the year (compared to $675.9m the previous year, a 10% increase).
• The increase reflected a Budgetary increase of $122.9m over the subsequent three years.
• The benefit/cost threshold for capital spending was reduced from 5:1 to 4.5:1 for the 1996/97 year and to 4:1 for the 1997/98 year. This reflected Government confidence in Transfund ensuring quality of spending and the general Budget entering surplus (enabling a greater proportion of fuel tax revenue to be directed to the National Roads Fund).
• The three-year cap on passenger transport funding was removed.
• Passenger transport funding was increased by $13.5m to replace funding removed due to abolition of regional fuel taxes.
• Additional spending was otherwise focused on increased maintenance, minor safety projects, new state highway construction projects, bridge reconstruction, continuation of seal extension.
• Major projects to start included:
• Albany-Silverdale section of the Albany-Puhoi realignment (SH1 Northern Motorway)
• Otira Viaduct SH73 Canterbury
• Stoke Bypass SH6 Nelson
• Orewa River Bridge Auckland
• Thorndon motorway viaduct seismic upgrade SH1 Wellington
• The newsletter contained a table comparing the previous year's spending by output class.

Transfund News July 1996 No.1 Pg1

Transfund News July 1996 No.1 Pg2

Transfund News July 1996 No.1 Pg3

Transfund News July 1996 No.1 Pg4

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).

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.