NZTA officials and seven central North Island mayors – including John Robertson (Waitomo), Rodney Dow (Ōtorohanga) and Mike Pettit (Waipā) met in New Plymouth last week after the $50 million announcement.
Mayors and politicians have celebrated the announcement of a $50 million war chest for the Awakino Gorge dilemma.
John Robertson
Waitomo mayor John Robertson told The News he was further reassured that the money would be used for capital works to resolve gorge issues – not fix them when they arrive.
“That was important to hear – for there was some concern, including with me, that the money might be used on maintenance, like put towards the repair work being done on the gorge now – many millions of dollars,” he said.
Last week The News highlighted Robertson’s view that a viable bypass route – the Taumatamaire Road – was needed when the gorge was closed because of bad weather.
That road is now a winding unsealed route – but Robertson has driven it recently with his New Plymouth counterpart Max Brough and is convinced it is worth investing in.
“New Zealand Transport Agency is to do some options analysis on how to invest the $50 million, and come back to us with this analysis… I expect this to include spending $50 million on the gorge to improve its resilience, and looking at a bypass route – Taumatamaire is the only option in my view,” he said this week.
“The Awakino Gorge has been slipping for 100 years. I am not sure that it can be ‘fixed’.”
The $50 million budget announcement was literally pennies from heaven.
The agenda for a meeting the day after of the mayors of Stratford, South Taranaki, New Plymouth, Waitomo, Ōtorohanga, Ruapehu and Waipā was called to encourage NZTA , “to invest in the gorge because closures like we are experiencing are not acceptable at all” Robertson said.
The budget announcement changed that to “let’s look at the options for investing in the gorge”.
The meeting was with NZTA chief Brett Gliddon and staff, and it was called by Brough in the wake of another gorge closure.
National MPs Barbara Kuriger (Taranaki-King Country) and David Macleod (New Plymouth) were among those to celebrate the announcement.
They underlined how critical it was to have State Highway 3 between Taranaki and Waikato open.
No one was more delighted than Kuriger, who contacted Robertson with the news as Nicola Willis delivered her budget.
She told The News she danced for joy when the announcement was made.
Her electorate takes in the gorge and she is familiar with every twist and turn in it.
“Anyone who regularly uses SH3 through the Awakino Gorge knows how important this route is for local communities, freight operators and businesses across the region.”
She said the corridor between Mount Messenger and the SH4 junction between Te Kūiti and Piopio has been closed 14 times since July 2021 because of weather-related events – most recently this year for more than a month following severe weather.
“Every closure causes major disruption for families, businesses and freight operators who rely on this route to move around the region and get goods to market.”
Macleod said the impacts of closures were felt well beyond the gorge itself.
“When SH3 closes through the Awakino Gorge, the effects are felt right across Taranaki.
“For many freight operators, tradies and businesses travelling to and from New Plymouth, a closure can add at least five hours to the journey by forcing traffic to detour via Whanganui
“There have been far too many closures over the past few years, and this investment will help make one of Taranaki’s most important transport links more reliable.”
The gorge – which reopened fully in May 22 after a long closure – was shut for three hours on Monday following heavy rain.
NZTA officials and seven central North Island mayors – including John Robertson (Waitomo), Rodney Dow (Ōtorohanga) and Mike Pettit (Waipā) met in New Plymouth last week after the $50 million announcement.
