Politicians and project representatives gathered at The Dowse Art Museum in Lower Hutt on Tuesday morning, to mark the launch of the Te Ara Tupua alliance with the signing of a symbolic contact.
The region has been waiting long enough for the connection for walking and cycling between Wellington and Hutt Valley that was officially launched on Tuesday, says the minister for transport.
Representatives scribbled their signatures onto an artist’s impression of the new path as a symbolic contract for the shared pathway for walking and cycling between the Hutt Valley and Wellington, named Te Ara Tupua.
Transport Minister Michael Wood, members of local iwi Taranaki Whānui and Ngāti Toa, councillors and mayors from Hutt City and Wellington Council, and staff at Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency gathered at The Dowse Art Museum in Lower Hutt on Tuesday morning, to mark the launch of the Te Ara Tupua alliance.
Last week, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency board approved $311.9m in funding for a 4.5km section of the path between Ngāūranga to Petone – an increase of $130 million thanks to the rising cost of materials.
READ MORE:
* Petone to Melling shared path starting to take shape
* Lower Hutt’s Cross Valley Transport Connections link clears Waka Kotahi’s first funding hurdle
* Beltway cycleway opens in Lower Hutt, connecting Waterloo station to suburbs
Supplied
Architect’s visualisation of Karanga Point on the Te Ara Tupua shared pathway.
However, Minister Wood said on Tuesday that wasn’t a reason to delay. “The reality is that all construction projects across transport and other areas face cost escalations,” he said. “I think this region’s waited long enough for this connection.”
A cycle path between Wellington and Lower Hutt has been discussed since 1901, when Labour’s MP for Lower Hutt called Wellington roads a “disgrace” and urged the government to pass legislation “to improve our roads so that our cyclists may use them”.
Wood called the project, set to be finished by 2026, an “important strategic investment for the region”.
“People should be able to safely walk and cycle between Wellington City and Hutt City,” he said. “This will open up those opportunities, it’ll clean up the air and reduce carbon pollution.”
Kate Green/Stuff
The project is set to improve the connection between the two cities, and increase resilience along the railway and highway.
It would also improve resilience through new sea walls alongside the railway line.
Tonkin + Taylor representative Peter Miller said the project would likely “face some significant challenges” over its construction – “you’ve just got to look at the weather that we’ve experienced in the last few days to understand that”.
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