Transport minister won’t rule out toll for Ashburton’s second bridge

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:

The minister of transport was given a belated birthday cake adorned with a picture of the Ashburton Bridge in a not-so-subtle reminder from his colleague.

Simeon Brown visited Ashburton on Friday to open the office of Rangitata MP James Meager and the Fairfield Freight Hub.

Meager presented Brown with the cake with a extra sweetener - a photo of the Ashburton Bridge as a reminder about the proposed second bridge project.

The bridge is listed as a road of regional significance and the minster said he wants all funding options on the table and hasn't ruled out the option of introducing a toll, either on the new bridge or existing State Highway 1 Bridge, to help pay for its construction.

During his visit, minister Brown was asked repeatedly about the plans for Ashburton’s second bridge – including a sit down with mayor Neil Brown.

At the office opening, the minister said he was impressed at the over-sized novelty scissors used to cut the ribbon that had been borrowed from mayor Brown.

The mayor was quick to quip that the minister was more than welcome to use them again when he opened the second bridge.

The bridge has been included in the re-draft of the Government policy statement on land transport, which sets the direction for NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Waka Kotahi.

Minister Brown said he did not have an update while it was going through the process.

“The next step is for NZTA to put the national land transport programme together,” he said.

“We are obviously committed to the project, and that process will identify when and how it will be delivered.”

The question remains how it will be funded, and by who.

As it is not a state highway but a local road project, the minister suggested there would be a requirement for the council to contribute.

The process would provide the answers about how it was funded, who funded what, and when construction would begin, he said.

With myriad infrastructure projects required around the country, the Government was looking at “a range of funding and financing tools”.

“All of our roads of national significance should be tolled.

“Part of that is so we can protect the maintenance budgets, particularly for rural state highways, and rural and local roads, because we need to make sure we are doing a much better job of maintaining what we have currently got.”

The direction to NZTA was that all options should be on the table for funding the bridge, he said.

“The reality is there is only a limited amount of money in the land transport fund and so we need to look at all funding and financing tools to get things happening.

“Funding is part of the puzzle but consenting has become another challenge which can delay projects by years.”

The Government was looking to pass fast-track consent legislation that could help expedite the bridge construction when the time comes.

Mayor Brown said he had a good discussion with minister about ways the bridge could be funded, and discussion about funding options would now take place between NZTA and the council.