Loathed Waipapa black spot finally gets roundabout funding

Mandy Turner of the Waipapa Business Association and councillor Ann Court celebrate news the Waipapa roundabout will go ahead after decades of lobbying. PHOTO / PETER DE GRAAF

A councillor who has been lobbying for almost 30 years for a roundabout at a notorious Bay of Islands intersection says she will be eternally grateful to Regional Development Minister Shane Jones.

Mr Jones' Provincial Growth Fund announcement in Gisborne yesterday included $9 million for a roundabout at the junction of State Highway 10 and Waipapa Rd.

The project will include extra walking and cycling paths and a new link road to Waipapa's commercial area.

Far North District councillor Ann Court has long campaigned for improvements to the loathed and congested intersection, informally since 1989 - more formally for the past 20 years.

Mandy Turner of the Waipapa Business Association and councillor Ann Court celebrate news the Waipapa roundabout will go ahead after decades of lobbying. PHOTO / PETER DE GRAAF

When she got the news on Thursday she was on her way to visit a sludge treatment plant in Taupo. She turned her phone back on when the plane landed, read the message, and burst into tears.

''The poor old man beside me must have thought my aunt had died. I didn't see it coming. This has been around for more than 30 years.''

Planning and design work started last year, but funding was far from guaranteed until yesterday's announcement.

''I am eternally grateful to the Minister for stepping in and recognising this project has district significance. It needed to be fixed and could no longer afford to be in the queue,'' she said.

A delighted Mandy Turner, of the Waipapa Business Association, said after so many years she still couldn't believe the roundabout was going to be built.

''The traffic is just horrendous now. It's dangerous,'' she said.

Mr Jones said the roundabout was ''desperately needed''.

SH10 was part of the Twin Coast Discovery Route linking significant tourist destinations, and a better transport network was essential to improve safety, reduce congestion and support economic growth.

The project would be managed by the Far North District Council and the NZ Transport Agency.