Big spend on highways in Christchurch

Up to $180 million a year will be spent until 2015 fixing Canterbury’s earthquake damaged roads, with the Government set to borrow more to meet the estimated $1 billion recovery price tag.

Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee yesterday released national transport funding details for the next three years. Spending has increased to $12.3b, up from $10.9b in the 2009-2012 programme.

Petrol excise duty and road user charges will rise and the Government will make a short-term, one-off loan of $100m to help the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) manage spending.

Brownlee said despite earthquake damage, Canterbury’s allocation from the National Land Transport Fund would be capped at $50m a year.

‘‘Limiting the contribution from the fund for Canterbury . . . will also help to give the NZTA certainty in managing Canterbury roading recovery costs while a longer term approach to meeting costs above this amount is worked through.

‘‘The Crown will bear the risk of costs above the $50 million.

‘‘[We] are currently working on options to manage this risk, including potential for a long-term loan facility.’’

NZTA southern regional director Jim Harland said the remainder may come from the $5billion Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Fund.

‘‘If you take too much out of [the land transport] fund for emergency response in Christchurch you’re going to upset the emergency capabilities for Manawatu Gorge [closed for months because of land slips] and everything else that is going to keep happening.’’

Christchurch’s estimated roading repair bill for quake damage has risen to between $0.87b and $1.1b.

The NZTA has already spent $116m.

Quake recovery spending would work range between $130m and $180m a year, Harland said.

Key projects included completing the $40m first stage of the Christchurch southern motorway, consenting the next two stages and four-laning State Highway 1 to Rolleston.

Four-laning of the new western corridor between Hornby and Harewood Rd and completing design and consenting work for the section to Belfast were also priorities.

A plan to upgrade SH1 between Timaru and Christchurch to allow vehicles weighing up to 53 tonnes will also be investigated.

About $130m would be invested in Christchurch’s public transport system, where patronage has dropped 40 per cent since the earthquakes.

Some money would be invested in infrastructure, he said, but it would not go towards the new bus interchange in the central city blueprint.

Details of the increases to fuel excise and road user charges would be announced before the end of the year.

The Government was considering public-private partnerships to offset tax increases in future, Brownlee said.

Source:

• 30 Aug 2012
• The Press
• Michael Wright michael.wright@press.co.nz