Notice of Requirement – Submitters to be heard

Public hearings on the Notice of Requirement (NoR) for the proposed transport corridor over the Ruahine Ranges have been scheduled to begin on 25 March 2019.

The hearings, which have been scheduled by a panel of independent commissioners appointed by the local Councils, will be open to the public and will run for up to three weeks. 

The NoR is a critical step to obtain statutory Resource Management Act approvals to authorise the proposed new road across the Ruahine Ranges.

At the hearings, a panel of commissioners will hear from submitters who will share their thoughts on the proposed route and raise any concerns they may have. Exact timings and locations for the hearings will be notified by the commissioners’ panel in due course.

The NoR was lodged with the Tararua District, Manawatū District and Palmerston North City Councils in November 2018. Submissions closed on 13 December 2018. More than 740 submissions were received – some from as far as the United Kingdom!

New speed limits are now in place on Saddle Road

Permanent speed limits for Saddle Road

The NZ Transport Agency has now set permanent speed limits for Saddle Road, one of the main bypass routes for the closed State Highway 3 through Manawatū Gorge.

The speed limits were changed to help reduce the risk of crashes as the road traffic volume has increased from 150 to 5100 vehicles per day.

The new permanent speed limits are:

• 80 kilometres per hour for State Highway 3 from Woodville to Woodlands Road, Woodlands Road, Oxford Road and Saddle Road from Hope Road to Mangaatua Stream
• 60 kilometres per hour on Saddle Road from Ashhurst to Mangaatua Stream

You can read more on our website.

Woodlands Road works near completion

The two curves realignments near Woodville are progressing well, and traffic is being rerouted along the new alignments. All works are expected to be completed on these curve realignments by the end of the month.

Contractors have also started work on the two retaining walls at the summit of the Saddle Road. Works will soon commence on the cattle underpass and road construction, with all works expected to be completed by the end of March.

Work to improve traffic flow and safety in Ashhurst is continuing and we will be sending a separate newsletter to subscribers in Ashhurst and surrounding areas soon.

The flyover video at Ashhurst Library

Flyover video in Ashhurst

Our animated video flyover which we showed at public information sessions late last year can now be viewed in public libraries in the region. For those who missed it, you can catch up with the video – which now has some additional footage about our geotechnical investigations - in the Ashhurst and Palmerston North libraries. Over the next few weeks, the video will then be shown in libraries in Feilding, Woodville, Dannevirke and Pahīatua. You can also watch the video online.

Service providers

We have received a number of queries from accommodation and service providers and other businesses wishing to register as potential suppliers for the project.

Please email us your details at teahuaturanga@nzta.govt.nz and we will include you in our register.

More information

If you have any questions or want to give us feedback, please drop us a line at teahuaturanga@nzta.govt.nz and we will get back to you within three working days, or you can call us on 0800 740 560.