One of the roundabout's waka-inspired artworks is blessed by kaumatua Albie Apiata and former minister Shane Jones. Photo / Peter de Graaf
One of the roundabout's waka-inspired artworks is blessed by kaumatua Albie Apiata and former minister Shane Jones. Photo / Peter de Graaf
A Bay of Islands roading project more than 30 years in the making has been opened, sparking celebration among local residents and business owners.
Ann Court, now Far North deputy mayor, started lobbying for a roundabout at the notorious Waipapa Rd-State Highway 10 intersection after witnessing a near miss in1989.
It was the issue that propelled her into local body politics but for many years it seemed a lost cause as it was repeatedly bumped down the government's priority list.
A $9 million grant from former Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones' Provincial Growth Fund in 2019 was the circuit-breaker that got the project under way.
The design of the new Waipapa roundabout, which was blessed on Friday, acknowledges significant maunga (mountains) around the Bay of Islands. Photo / Peter de Graaf
It then morphed into a wider Waipapa upgrade by Waka Kotahi which included a stormwater overhaul, new parking and footpaths, and a new road and bridge linking Waipapa's two commercial centres.
The final bill for the Waipapa Corridor Project was $24.5m with the National Land Transport Fund picking up the rest of the tab.
Court was unable to attend yesterday's official opening due to a family bereavement but several speakers paid tribute to her decades-long effort.
The roundabout itself has been in use since last year but yesterday marked the unveiling of new artwork and the first time traffic has been able to use a new bridge over Whiriwhiritoa Stream.
It is now possible to drive or walk from Maritime Lane, off Waipapa Loop Rd behind the Pioneer Tavern, to Klinac Lane in Waipapa's main shopping area.
Crossing the new Maritime Lane bridge for the first time are, from left, former Regional Economic Development Shane Jones, Northland MP Willow-Jean Prime, NZTA Tai Tokerau board member Ken Rintoul and Tai Tokerau MP Kelvin Davis. Photo / Peter de Graaf
MPs Kelvin Davis and Willow-Jean Prime led the formalities while kaumātua from Ngati Rēhia, Ngāti Kawa, Ngāti Rahiri and other hapū performed the blessings and mihi.
Davis pulled no punches about the junction as it used to be, describing it as ''a prick of an intersection''.
''You took your life into your hands when you tried to pull out there,'' he said.
Along with new roundabouts at Kawakawa and Puketona and a planned bridge at Kaeo, it was ''really important infrastructure that will save lives''.
The new Waipapa roundabout features waka-inspired artwork designed by Renata Tane and Allen Wihongi and produced by CMC Design in Ōpua. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Pioneer Tavern publican Tyler Bamber, chairman of the Waipapa Business Association, said he had been involved in the project for only four years.
All the same, he quipped, despite not being blessed with an athlete physique, after walking across the new bridge for the first time he now knew how a marathon runner felt.
He acknowledged Ann Court, saying no single person had fought harder or longer for the roundabout.
Every day in summer he would hear the screech of tyres signalling another close call and was amazed there hadn't been more serious accidents.
Bamber said the disruption of the past two years had been tough on businesses, but the roundabout was already having a positive effect and he was looking forward to the benefits of the new road.
Kaumātua Wiremu Tane (Ngati Kawa, Ngati Rahiri) gives a hongi to one of Waipapa roundabout's waka-inspired artworks. Photo / Peter de Graaf
The new sculptures on the roundabout, designed by carver Renata Tane and artist Allen Wihongi, represent the tauihu (prow) and taurapa (stern) of a waka.
They were made by CMC Design in Ōpua using a computer-controlled cutting machine.
Other artwork around the edge of the roundabout acknowledges four significant maunga (mountains) connecting Ngāti Rēhia to other hapū.
Danny Kaiawe of Te Tii leads students of Bay of Islands International Academy in a waiata. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Waka Kotahi Northland-Auckland manager Jacqui Hori-Hoult said the improved transport corridor would make journeys safer for motorists, walkers and cyclists in a fast-growing area, and would support the area's economic development.
Linking Klinac Lane and Maritime Lane also made travel around Waipapa easier and safer by removing the need to travel along the highway to get between the two parts of the town.
In a self-deprecating speech, Jones recalled how the Waipapa roundabout had caused him more indignities in Parliament than any other project, because he was repeatedly accused of funding it because it was down the road from his house.
He announced the funding not long after he was elected but was sacked before he had a chance to open it, he said.
Students of Bay of Islands International Academy and Kerikeri Primary School cultural groups perform during the opening of the new Maritime Lane bridge. Photo / Peter de Graaf
