'Bitter disappointment' as roads leading to Whangārei's Hundertwasser cut from plan

Wednesday, 12 June 2019

Two Whangārei intersections, which would have eased congestion between State Highway 1 and the new Hundertwasser Art Centre, are now unlikely to get funding.

Access to Whangārei's showpiece Hundertwasser Art Centre could be compromised, after the New Zealand Transport Agency said key transport projects were unlikely to be funded.

NZTA is facing a nationwide funding shortfall for its 2018-21 National Land Transport Programme.

Senior executives are meeting with councils around the country to outline NZTA priorities and say which council-led projects were unlikely to get subsidies before 2021.

An artist's impression of how the Hundertwasser Art Centre in the Whangārei Town Basin will look when complete.

'Funding is tight,' said NZTA director of regional relationships, Steve Mutton.

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NZ Transport Agency director of regional relationships, Steve Mutton, says there has not been a cut in funding but large demand means not all projects will be prioritised.

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Councillor Greg Martin says access to the Hundertwasser Art Centre will be impacted by the roadworks not going ahead.

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'We are managing some of the highest ever carryover of projects from the previous programme and substantial increases in construction costs for projects already contracted and underway.'

Viewed from Water St, the Water St/Walton St/Maunu Rd/Central Ave intersection is a busy and often congested intersection in Whangārei.

Mutton said NZTA had set its priorities for four classes of the programme - public transport, walking and cycling, local road improvements and regional improvements.

A total of $1.2 billion of funding had been approved.

Whangārei District Council chief executive Rob Furlong says Whangārei has been badly hit by NZTA funding cuts.

But with an 'unprecedented number' of funding applications in each of the classes, there were council-led projects that were unlikely to receive funding in the current programme, Mutton said.

Four Whangārei projects sat in this category including improvement work to two intersections in the centre of town: the Maunu Rd/Central Ave/Walton St/Water St intersection and the Robert St/Walton St intersection.

The Robert St/Walton St intersection is directly near the site of the Hundertwasser Art Centre, where a crane is working on the project.

Also unlikely to receive funding were a roundabout at Springs Flat, north of central Whangārei, to link Kamo with State Highway 1, plus links to a new shared walking and cycling path in Kamo.

The projects were worth a total of $12 million but Whangārei District Council had planned to pick up 47 per cent of the cost.

Whangārei district councillor Greg Martin said the economic impact would be huge, including on Whangārei's contractors who were told in advance about upcoming work.

'I'm bitterly disappointed.'

He said it was ironic the two central Whangārei intersections had been delayed, as they would have improved access between State Highway 1 and the new Hundertwasser Art Centre which was supported by central Government.

The $26m iconic arts centre received a $10m investment from the Provincial Growth Fund in June 2018.

Work on the project started in June 2018 and was expected to be finished before the end of 2020.

Whangārei District Council chief executive Rob Furlong said the funding cuts were 'quite significant' for Whangārei, representing 40 per cent of the council's capital improvements.

'We're the only council in Northland who has got any cuts - we're quite disproportionately hit,' he said.

All the projects were deemed regionally significant by the combined Northland Transport Committee and would help to ease congestion in Whangārei, Furlong said.

The roundabout at Springs Flat helped provide access to an area of 'significant growth', with an entire suburb recently created between Kamo and Tikipunga, he said.

Whangārei was also impacted by the delay of a $400 million motorway from Te Hana to Whangārei, announced late last year as a direct result of the Government's policy statement on transport, Furlong said.

Mutton said meetings with local councils would continue until the end of June. Then, NZTA would publish on its website details of which projects had been approved funding, what projects were not expected to be funded during this National Land Transport Programme and what projects might be funded if more funding became available.

Furlong said Whangārei would continue to lobby for its projects to get funding.