Transport

This road has 3 major issues that are detrimental to transport between Wellington and the Wairarapa. The first is Safety. It has been labelled by NZTA as one of the highest risk roads in the country with a disproportionate number of accidents and deaths. 

The second is resilience.  It is the only viable link we have with Wellington. If it gets taken out by a weather event or major earthquake, it could be closed for months or even years.  Without a viable alternate route, the Wairarapa will be economically decimated. We need a new route with the existing one kept as an alternate.

The third is productivity. A new route would open up the Wairarapa to new housing and business development.  In Carterton we have a major asset which is the Waingawa industrial park.  It could be the expansion that Wellington needs but the current road is limiting the potential of this site.

An alternate road built to modern highway standards is a very expensive undertaking but if the Wairarapa is to have a viable future, we must stop kicking the can down the road. A study is required to prove that there would be a major productivity gain with a new road. It needs to be officially recognised as a road of national significance.

I am the spokesperson for the Remutaka Road Advocacy Group and you can find much more about what we are doing by visiting the site. 

Logging Trucks

The logging industry is important for our economy and I fully support their operation. But the constant movement of logging trucks through Carterton and the Remutaka Hill causes frustration and congestion.

Although a new road over the Remutaka Hill would significantly alleviate the congestion this will not happen anytime soon. I am often asked why more logs are not transported by rail. It's a good question and it simply comes down to cost. If it costs logging operators less to transport logs by train than by road to Wellington they would. 

In speaking to a logging business operator, they send about 50% of their logs to Wellington by rail even though it is more expensive than by road. It is hard to believe that it costs more to use rail than road to transport logs but I believe that is due to the financial model that Kiwi Rail uses to cover the cost of the tracks and other railway infrastructure. The same applies with passenger rail which is why passenger rail is so heavily subsidised.

If it is justifiable to subsidise passenger rail to get cars off the road to ease congestion, then it should also be justified to do the same with freight to get logging trucks off the road. Let’s make that happen by taking a regional approach and putting pressure on Kiwirail and the government!  Imagine the improvement of quality of life for commuters and Carterton & Greytown residents no longer conflicting with these massive vehicles.