Transmission Gully PPP approved

The Dom Post reports:

Motorists may still have to pay a toll to use Transmission Gully.

Excellent. Those who use roads should pay for them.

The New Zealand Transport Agency was granted permission yesterday to pursue a public-private partnership for the $1.3 billion 27-kilometre, four-lane road planned between Linden and McKays Crossing north of Wellington.

Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee says construction could start in 2014, a year earlier than expected, and be completed in 2020 if a private company built the highway.

A 2014 start would also be excellent. The Greens have made it pretty clear they want Transmission Gully scrapped, and Labour’s position on the road is unclear. If there is a change in Government in 2014, it is possible that we’ll never get Transmission Gully. But if actual construction starts in 2014, that maximises its chance of being completed.