Mt Messenger bypass gathers momentum

AS the weather gets warmer and summer gets closer, the construction of the Te Ara o Te Ata Mt Messenger Bypass is ramping up, says Waka Kotahi spokesperson Blair Cunningham.

“Work slowed over winter; however, contractors have continued to prepare for upcoming construction season.”

Last week Waka Kotahi briefed the media, including King Country News, on the construction progress and ecological restoration work at the site.

“We felt that it would be most beneficial to offer the visit after winter when things had dried out, as the summer construction season was ramping up and to give a more accurate picture of the work done over winter especially in the pest management/ecological parts of the project,” Blair said.

Work was ongoing despite legal challenges from a landowner who did not want his property to be part of the project, he said.

King Country News sought comment from Mt Messenger farmer Tony Pascoe, a well-known opponent of the project, but he did not respond before today’s print deadline.

Tony and his supporters have been active in putting their side on Youtube.

Speaking at the site briefing, project spokesperson Caleb Perry made a solid case for the new six-kilometre route’s benefits.

The aim, he said, was to transform Taranaki’s previously unreliable northern transport link, while creating a massive new ecological reserve.

Following years of legal challenges, construction began in September 2022.  Although now unlikely to be completed until at least 2026, and tipped to well exceed its budget of $280m, Caleb said the bypass would:

• Reduce the likelihood of deaths and injuries from crashes on a notorious steep and winding section of State Highway 3.
• Provide a more resilient route, capable of standing up to North Taranaki’s winter rains, crumbling papa banks, unstable hillsides and near white-out fogs.
• Enhance the reliability of journeys for most people who used the road between Taranaki and the Waikato, businesspeople, tourists, transport operators and locals.
• Improve the experience of driving SH3, for example, reducing journey times between Hamilton and New Plymouth, thus indirectly boosting the national economy.
• Create 3650 hectares of permanent pest-free habitat for kiwi, long tailed bats, kōkako, invertebrates and many other species. Lasting improvements to the surrounding environment to be overseen by the mana whenua of the rohe Ngāti Tama and their descendants, forever.

Caleb points out that when Mt Messenger is closed to traffic, the resulting detour is massive.

“It means sending trucks and other traffic round The Forgotten Highway (SH43) via Whangamomona; or a trip from New Plymouth to Whanganui and then up SH4. If you are a big truck with ‘H’ on the front you will have to go all the way to Bulls and up SH1, adding something like five hours to your trip,” he said.  

He admits the project will remove 31ha of native forest and vegetation but points to a road design that bends over backwards to preserve wetlands in the area.

These measures include construction of a 235-metre tunnel, shorter but about the same width as the one at Waterview.

He said this would allow wildlife to use the main ridge for uninterrupted movement from one side of the road to the other.

A single-span 125 m bridge would carry the road over the stream that fed into the Mimi River, while a 30m bridge to the north of the tunnel would keep the route on a steady gradient over the valley floor.  

The moral foundation for the project was established in 2020, he said, when an 82% majority of Ngāti Tama members voted in favour of agreements with Waka Kotahi, to allow the land needed for the Mt Messenger Bypass to be exchanged.  

The agreement included a 120ha coastal property, renamed Ngarautika by Ngāti Tama, in exchange for 20ha of Ngāti Tama land, a cultural compensation payment and the enduring pest management regime.

Ngāti Tama now played the lead role in all aspects of the work, for example everyone who worked on the site had to enter the front doors of the iwi office ahead of entering the project site.

The tribe’s marae had hosted cultural inductions for more than 600 project workers, and everyone – construction workers and ecologists and others – started work following karakia and waiata.

The project’s lead ecologist Roger MacGibbon said there was no question this project would have a significant environmental impact with 31ha of native forest and vegetation removed.

“That’s Ngāti Tama original land and while a lot of it has been milled in the flats or destroyed by cattle, still a lot hasn’t.

“So, there is an impact and we’ve never hidden from that. It’s part and parcel of getting the road through the country and there’s no way to avoid it.

But there is a substantial mitigation package in this project, probably one of the biggest in the history of New Zealand.

“What has been created here is so valuable and worthy of protection, a contiguous forest from the Coast.

“There aren’t many places where this is so particularly in the North Island.

“Ecologically, it’s very important because bird life moves up and down from the coast to the hills. It is absolutely critical to sustain wildlife populations.”

He said the location had a number of threatened species.

Hence up to 10 staff were out every day to monitor kiwi and long-tailed bats.  

Seventeen kiwi roosting near the construction site were fitted with transmitters. The bats were tracked with special microphones which picked up their high-pitched calls. If any animals strayed into areas where they might be hurt, work stopped until they were verified to be out of the way.  

“We need to know precisely where they are, every day. Our team is out there constantly with the radio transmitters and a kiwi dog making sure the kiwi are safe.

“If they do happen to move in and camp where the construction is planned to be that day then we can move them if we have to.”

Meanwhile, Roger’s staff are planting 32ha of forest, plus 16ha of new wetland and 17ha of riparian plantings.

The destruction of pests, including deer, goats, pigs, feral cats, rats, stoats, weasels and ferrets will be ongoing.

Roger does not think wallabies are established in the area.

“The area we will keep pest free with be large enough to maintain all the systems required for a healthy forest,” he said.

“This work is going to happen because of the road but the money made available was greatly needed, even without the road.

“Without the action to get rid of these pests this eco-system would be in a sorry state in another decade or so.”

When outsiders came in and saw big trees growing, they assumed they were seeing a healthy forest.  

“Nothing could be further from the truth,” Roger said.

“In their natural state, the north Taranaki forests had thick understorey, which had largely been destroyed by cattle grazing over the years.

“When the understorey is destroyed by cattle, it removes the next generation of trees, meaning when the existing ones die there will be no replacement.

“The space provided by the destruction of the understorey also provides access for the whole slew of pests which destroyed native wildlife.

“But that is not the destiny of this forest - I believe Ngāti Tama will ensure this forest flourishes into the future.      

“I’ve worked on many roading projects – this is the only one of which I can solemnly say the area’s conservation status will be far better after the road is built than it was before we started,” Roger said.