Leaders reject advice to pause Wellington’s $ 6.4 billion transportation upgrade, warning the public would be ‘apoplectic’

Wellington can’t afford to stop its beleaguered $ 6.4 billion transportation upgrade, political leaders say, despite a scathing review warning that a major rethink is needed to avoid potential failures.

The delays come amid mounting concerns about the future of the capital’s creaky infrastructure, including its transportation network, and the mounting cost to the public purse of upgrading it.

The 20-year program, called Let’s Get Wellington Moving (LGWM), is intended to include a new highway in the Basin Reserve, a second Mt Victoria tunnel, and new mass transit connecting the airport and the city.

READ MORE:
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* What can people expect from the $ 6.4 billion Let’s Get Wellington Moving program in 2021?

In September, the LGWM board commissioned outside consultants to conduct a program review amid growing concern about delays. The findings were made public Friday and were damning reading.

It found that the program was “at risk of failure to run” and needed to be stopped in order to address important issues. Problems, which may have persisted since the LGWM’s inception five years ago, included a lack of resources, a shortage of staff, a lack of experience, and a lack of “strategic leadership.”

“Within the LGWM team, there is a lack of proven experience and knowledge in running within a complex and large-scale integrated program environment.”

The review said its recommended pause would have implications for the “time frames, scope and cost” of transportation projects in Wellington.

“We consider this to be preferable to the risk of not achieving the desired results with the current approach.”

However, local and central political leaders rejected the review’s recommendation that the program be halted., one stating that the public would be “apoplectic” at further delays.

Greater Wellington Regional Council Chairman Daran Ponter, who is part of the LGWM governance reference group, said the review represented a “snapshot in time” and that work on the program had not slowed down.

“There really hasn’t been a pause, and I, for one, won’t be waving for a pause.

“That would only send the audience apoplectic.”

Transport Minister Michael Wood was also quick to reject the recommendation. In a letter sent Friday to LGWM leaders, Wood said the review’s recommendation to “pause” the program was “unacceptable” and set a two-week deadline for LGWM leaders to produce a new plan to solve the capital’s transportation problems.

“Wellingtons have been waiting too long for progress to unlock the potential of our capital city,” he wrote.

In my opinion, pausing to reconsider those goals will only cause further delays in the program. The only way to restore public trust is by making progress. “

He urged board members to move forward with projects that were smaller in scale or more advanced in planning, including plans to improve walking and biking options, and priority bus measures.

“My expectation is that Waka Kotahi [NZ Transport Agency] will work with Wellington City Council and Greater Wellington [Regional Council] to support delivery on a schedule that helps build public trust and a sense of momentum. “

LGWM is a partnership between Wellington City Council, Greater Wellington Regional Council and the Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, overseen by a governing board and led by Program Director Andrew Body.

On Friday, a spokesperson for the show said Body was not available for interviews to respond to the review, or the possibility of further delays.

Instead, LGWM released a statement saying the three program partners welcomed the “health check” and that progress had already been made to address the recommendations made since it first received the report in December.

“LGWM has been working on developing a new vision, objectives and investment mix for the program, along with new funding estimates,” he said.

This work would be completed in March, the statement said.

Wellington Mayor Andy Foster, who is also part of the LGWM benchmark group, said a reboot was being “done”, which included work to “get the culture and morale of the organization on track,” but that there would be no pause.

“A lot of technical work has been done and the last thing we want to do is stop that.”

Other regional mayors were not impressed with the progress of the project and said that after five years, the time to talk was over.

“We don’t need to spend six months focusing on what we have to do, we have to put some bulldozers in the ground,” said Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy.

Porirua Mayor Anita Baker said she would be “shocked” if they had to start the process again. He said the latest round of planning and discussion had lasted five years with little done and the new problem with Wellington’s water pipes had compounded the problems.

Big ideas

* all costs are anticipated and have not been confirmed

Mount Victoria Second Tunnel, $ 700 million – Includes the expansion of Ruahine St and Wellington Rd.

Cuenca reserve tunnel$ 190 million – A solution for the congested Basin Reserve roundabout on State Highway 1 is said to include a tunnel under Sussex St

Mass rapid transport, $ 2.2b – The preferred technology and route has yet to be determined. A proposed route in the LGWM plan runs from Wellington railway station along the waterfront piers, up to Taranaki St and beyond the Basin Reserve to Newtown and the airport.

Renovation of the Golden Mile, $ 80 million – The most radical plan would remove cars and parking lots from the area, significantly widen trails, and convert several side streets in downtown Wellington to pedestrian-only zones.

Reaction to the Let’s Get Wellington Moving review

“We don’t need to spend six months focusing on what we have to do, we have to put some bulldozers in the ground.” – Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy

“Wellingtons have been waiting too long for progress to unlock the potential of our capital city.” – Minister of Transport Michael Wood

“I don’t see how they are thinking about how these projects could work together with housing and public health.” – Dr. Imran Muhammad, Transport and Urban Planning Scholar

“We need to get cars off the road and we need a fast and reliable public transportation system that can be set up quickly.” – Road Transport Forum CEO and former Porirua Mayor NIck Leggett

“We have made some decisions and now we have to go ahead and get the job done.” – Mayor of Porirua, Anita Baker