Eastern highway strikes road jam

By BERNARD ORSMAN

Progress is slowing on the eastern highway while consultants and politicians grapple with the enormity of the $3 billion to $4 billion project.

A report on funding options has been delayed and there is no timetable for deciding the route and applying for resource consents.

The Auckland and Manukau City Councils have been warned of financial risks, and Transit NZ has not decided whether to stick with the project.

A plan to start the project by July next year is months behind schedule. Auckland City Mayor John Banks has staked his political career on completing the project by 2010.

The eastern highway project director, Grant Kirby, said yesterday that a range of issues arising from the release of a preferred option two weeks ago had complicated matters and changed the timetable.

These included choosing between an expressway across Hobson Bay or a tunnel under Parnell at the city end, buses running alongside rail, the design of intersections and "of course, the cost".

Mr Kirby said the funding options report by Deloittes had been due on March 17 but would not be ready before next month. He did not know whether the project would be notified before October's local body elections.

The project is shaping as a key election issue in Auckland City and Manukau, where anti-highway candidates are challenging Mr Banks and Manukau Mayor Sir Barry Curtis, also a strong supporter.

In a report last month to the eastern transport corridor steering group, Mr Kirby warned of the need to proceed carefully and "be aware of the impacts of the consenting and designation processes [including the necessity to purchase properties], funding availability and staging options".

In the report, Mr Kirby attached a legal opinion from Simpson Grierson stating that once the project was notified, the notifying body or bodies would be exposed to the potential purchase of affected properties worth up to $1.2 billion.

Transit chairman David Stubbs said the board had not begun to consider the recommended option report by Opus International Consultants.

Transit is committed to the project up to choosing a preferred route. Mr Stubbs said he would be surprised if a project of this scale would proceed past that stage without substantial political input.