Questions are being raised over the cost of a controversial project to lower speed limits and introduce a new raised pedestrian crossing on Cobham Dr — the State Highway 1 route to and from Wellington airport.
The road freight industry has previously criticised the project along with a coalition of other businesses and industry groups also in opposition. Now the National Party is raising questions around the cost which has been revealed at $2.4 million.
Among the price tag, $1.86m has been spent on construction costs, $535,000 went to consultants and $50,000 was spent on “other activities”.
The figures were released to National transport spokesperson Simeon Brown following questions to transport minister Michael Wood.
“Labour must explain how it costs more than half a million dollars in consultants’ fees to build a pedestrian crossing,” Brown says.
“This project, which will only add to the duration of trips to the airport, is one of the only projects that Labour has delivered, despite spending the past five years talking about ‘Let’s Get Wellington Moving’.
“Rather than delivering on major transport projects that Wellingtonians actually need, all that Let’s Get Wellington Moving has accomplished under Labour are a few intersection improvements and speed limit reductions to the airport and across the city.
“National’s vision for Let’s Get Wellington Moving in 2015 was to unlock the route to the airport with faster journey times, but all Labour is doing is slowing Wellingtonians down,” Brown says.
However, Let’s Get Wellington Moving is defending the cost of the project and says it will deliver much needed safety improvements.
There have been pedestrian fatalities on the road with currently no place to safely cross SH1 anywhere between Miramar and the Evans Bay Parade traffic lights.
The crossing will be controlled by two sets of traffic lights (one for each direction of travel). It says when activated by pedestrians, it would mean shorter red light wait times for people travelling in vehicles on SH1.
Calls were made for an overbridge as an alternative, but LGWM says its investigations found that a crossing at road level controlled by traffic lights is the most cost-effective way to improve safety and can be built the soonest with the least disruption.
It would improve ease of access for people of all ages and abilities and would not require long ramps or stairs going over or under the road, it says.
Construction on the crossing began in May last year and is expected to be open this month.
