Successive local and regional elected officials have failed to convince successive Governments to do more than talk about doing something about it.
Then in came the new Government. The coalition dithered over its Government Policy Statement on Transport for months, local councils bracing for a big change of direction and what it would mean for the projects they had lined up, as progress suddenly ground to a halt.
The statement arrived and the change was big. The councils here were not ready. Their pitches were not tailored for this brave new multi-modal world.
Meanwhile, everyday people were crawling along the highway in congestion that only seemed to get worse and worse.
Too often, there were crashes. New crosses to drive pass.
The highway is unforgiving.
That's not to say that bad driving isn't a problem or isn't causing crashes, but to say that if you make a mistake and have a crash – or someone else makes a mistake and crashes into you – someone is more likely to end up dead in a ditch or horribly injured.
And there was no apparent plan to remedy that situation.
The lack of information coming from the NZ Transport Agency - engaged in a reevaluation of State Highway 2 projects from the ground up - and the Ministry of Transport - Phil Twyford electing to leave the decision making to the experts - created an environment so lacking in leadership that fear flourished.
It's been almost a year of little to fill the information vacuum but politicians blowing hot air at each other.
You stopped the road.
But you had nine years.
People are dying.
You're fear mongering.
No-one is reassured, as the various demonstrations have shown.
Surely the agency has reached a point in its investigation where it can, at the very least, give some indication of its direction.
