AA Calls For Urgent Review Of SH2

The Automobile Association says that an urgent review of the standard of State Highway 2 between Napier and Gisborne is needed.

“It is essential that funds are found to upgrade SH2, particularly the section between Napier and Wairoa,” Lawrie Willis, the Chairman of the Association’s Hawke’s Bay/Gisborne District Council, said today.

“The current state of the highway is a disgrace to the region. But worse than that, it is totally inadequate to meet the anticipated demands that will be coming from the forestry industry over the next few years.

“Sections such as ‘The Devil’s Elbow’, the Matahorua Gorge, at Putorino, and where the road runs alongside the Mohaka River near Raupunga, are all in dire need of attention. The Association is also concerned about the lack of passing lanes, as some drivers become frustrated and take risks to get around slower heavy traffic.

“Quite simply, if that highway is not upgraded road users’ lives are going to be put at risk.”

Mr Willis said the Association believed that this was an occasion where the standard cost benefit : cost ratio system was not an appropriate tool to assess funding needs.

“In this situation there is only one major arterial route, which is a vital link to meeting the economic growth predicted in area.

“The importance of the road to the region fair outweighs the volume of traffic that travels it. Its value to the people of the region is immense.

“With the future of the Napier-Gisborne rail-link in doubt, it is absolutely vital that we have a highway that can meet the future demands that will be placed on it, and on which all road users can travel smoothly and safely.”

Ends

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