Eastern bypass a low priority

The proposed Masterton eastern bypass is likely to remain at the bottom of a list of new and high-cost transport projects awaiting action by Greater Wellington Regional Council.
Design work for the bypass, which could start between this year and 2012, would provide an alternative route for heavy traffic coming from the northeast of Masterton.
A driving factor behind the scheme was the rising number of logging trucks travelling between the district's maturing forests and mills and the town railhead.
Many trucks have been using Colombo Road and Kuripuni Street as a thoroughfare to the State Highway, angering some residents.
Submissions to the just-approved regional transport programme supporting the bypass noted the need to have heavy vehicles bypass Chapel Street, while others were worried about the impact a bypass would have on residential streets.
However, the officer's recommendation was to keep the bypass project as a low priority, which "reflects the project's relatively limited contribution towards regional outcomes".
"The design phase only is expected to commence in the first three years and this will include a study of future forestry activity and investigation of whether an eastern bypass route is justified."
Several of the 579 submitters to the programme were generally concerned private vehicle owners were bearing the cost of what they believed was unnecessary wear and tear on roads by logging trucks and suggested the logs could be moved by rail.
They suggested weight restrictions on the Rimutaka Hill Road or tolls on heavy vehicles to encourage the shift.
Officers responded by pointing out the Wairarapa Log Freight project already aimed to have more logs being transported by rail between the region and the port.
"However, rail will not be a feasible option for all road freight travelling between Wairarapa and the rest of the region, and therefore there would be little justification for placing weight restrictions or tolls on heavy vehicles using this key strategic route with limited alternatives."
Submitters also showed mixed views about how funding should be spread across local authority areas, with some saying Wairarapa residents should only pay for Wairarapa projects.
The programme now goes to the NZ Transport Agency, whose board will decide which projects will be included in the national land transport programme.
Fran Wilde, who chairs both the regional council and its regional transport committee, said the programme included a forecast of nearly $6 billion of transport expenditure over the next 10 years.
"This is an ambitious programme, involving a range of roading, public transport and walking and cycling projects
"While more than half of the funding for this programme would come from the Government, through the NZ Transport Agency, there are implications for regional and local rates."