Basin Bridge a circuit breaker for Wellington transport

The NZ Transport Agency says the Basin Bridge is the crucial circuit-breaker that will enable a whole host of other improvements across all transport modes in Wellington - including public transport, walking and cycling.

“Without the Basin Bridge, the other projects simply wouldn’t work as effectively, and this makes it hard to justify funding them,” says NZTA Chief Executive Geoff Dangerfield.

“We want to work in partnership with the Council, but to do this we need certainty and consistency.  We need to be confident that they will stand by their agreements.  Commissioning further work to be done on new options this late in the process is their prerogative, but it is not consistent with their earlier position and generates uncertainty and unnecessary and costly delay.

“We've been open to a wide range of ideas, we’ve thoroughly examined and re-examined numerous options.”

“State Highway 1 around the Basin Reserve suffers from serious congestion, and if we do nothing, traffic jams will only get worse.   NZTA has a duty to act in the interests of the transport system as a whole and to ensure that we achieve value for money for taxpayers.  This road is part of the strategic state highway system that is not only important for Wellington, but also for the region and the country.  That is what guides our approach”. 

Mr Dangerfield said in the coming weeks the NZTA would be considering how to best make the progress that the Wellington region needs to resolve this matter. 

Letter to Garry Poole (PDF, 546KB)