Safer biking `in 10 years'

JONATHAN DOW
Cyclists will be given a safe ride over the Tutaekuri and Ngararoro Rivers at Awatoto - but it could take 10 years.
Building clip-ons to the two bridges could cost up to $1.3 million but Transit's national fund for walking and cycleways is only a couple of million dollars.
Transit yesterday released its draft 10-year building plan. Cycle and walkways are not ranked in the way major roading projects are, but Transit regional manager Hilton Netterville said the cycleways would be built in the next 10 years.
Because clip-ons would take almost all of the cycling budget, they were difficult to fund, Mr Netterville said. Transit was now working on a study that will identify the cycleway needs of the region.
"We will look at where the pinch points are to, say, link Napier and Hastings," Mr Netterville said.
State Highway 38 to Lake Waikaremoana will not be sealed within the next 10 years.
There are four main state highways to be sealed, Mr Netterville said.
The road to Cape Reinga - the northern tip of State Highway 1 - is being sealed at the moment and the road to Waikaremoana is next on the list. But it won't be cheap. The current estimate is $22.5 million.
"It's still a fundable project. It's quite a significant cost but it is still there," Mr Netterville said.
The major priorities in Hawke's Bay include the southern extension of the expressway. It would continue from the Omahu Road roundabout to bypass the Maraekakaho Road/York Road intersection and rejoin Highway 2 after the Irongate industrial area, and to realign State Highway 2 north of Waipukurau.
Realigning the Matahorua Gorge, between Putorino and Tutira, was ranked at 89 with a tentative construction start date of 2014/15. This was an improvement on its 100-plus ranking last year (which meant it would not happen within 10 years).