Ōtaki to north of Levin property owner update – June 2020

To make sure we keep all property owners informed on what's happening in your area, we will continue to send property owner updates alongside our general newsletter.

We’re working to make the existing state highways safer in the short term, while we work to build a new highway for regional and through-traffic by the end of the decade.

The move to COVID-19 alert level 2 in mid-May enabled onsite project investigations to get underway. The project team continued to work remotely and is transitioning back into the office and face-to-face meetings now New Zealand has entered alert level 1.

Contractors working on a geotechnical drilling rig near Levin.

Investigating ground conditions

In our last update we let you know we were preparing for geotechnical testing within the preferred corridor for the new highway. When working restrictions were lifted towards the end of May, work was able to start. Drilling rigs are now on site to test ground conditions by drilling boreholes up to 30m deep and collecting soil and rock samples.

What we learn from the ground conditions will help the planning and design of the new road, and will be considered alongside other factors such as local ecology, historical sites and effects on community as we explore location options.

The test sites are evenly spaced along the corridor and include some locations selected for ease of access and others around likely structures or constraints. These sites don’t represent where the exact route is likely to go as that is not yet determined.

Sharing updates and seeking your feedback this winter

Thanks for your patience as we’ve continued to develop investigations and design. This winter we’ll have two updates to share with you. Your feedback on our work-in-progress can help guide and shape the work as it develops.

As COVID-19 alert levels have been changing, we’ve considered how we can share details with you and hear your feedback. We’d prefer to meet face-to-face when possible, but we will also have online and other options so we can have conversations in ways that work for you.

Here’s a look at what’s coming your way this winter:

• First, we have the safety improvements on SH57. This includes consideration of stretches of side barriers and wide centre lines to provide greater separation between traffic lanes, and a roundabout at the Queen Street intersection. Concept plans for this section of highway have been completed and we’d like to hear your thoughts shortly. After gathering community feedback, the plans will be finetuned in the detailed design phase. We’re aiming to be out and about in the community for conversations in July.
• Following this, we will be sharing our latest investigation and design work on the new highway. This includes where the new highway could sit within the 300m preferred corridor, and the types and locations of intersections and connections with local roads. We’ll be updating property owners within the preferred corridor and then hosting public events to give you the opportunity to talk with the team and have your questions answered before providing your feedback.

We’ll let you know when and where more information will be available – keep an eye on these newsletters for details.

We’re continuing to work with our partners on safety improvements on SH1, and look forward to sharing an update with you a little later in the year.

We heard from hundreds of local community members in early 2018.

Further investigations for the new highway guided by past feedback

We spoke with hundreds of community members and received submissions from nearly 600 people when we invited feedback on shortlisted options for the Ō2NL corridor back in 2018. This feedback provided not only valuable information for the corridor selection, but it also provided details that have guided further investigation work – such as on noise, social and community impacts.

The social effects of the new highway are among the investigations currently underway in this space. As part of this, an independent researcher will be contacting some local community members to gather feedback on how people move around their area and access local services, as well as their thoughts on how the new highway could affect their environment, household and community.

In addition, to help with the design of the new highway the project team will use drones to survey the area in the coming weeks. We will let residents on the flight path know in advance. This birds-eye-view information will help us generate more realistic project visuals to share with you. You may see some surveyors on roadsides doing preparatory work before the drone survey begins.

Earlier in the project we established a project reference group who provided a valuable local perspective. As we progress to the next phase, we’re looking to expand this knowledge sharing by shifting to working with several locally-focused Ō2NL community groups.

We’re looking forward to chatting with the whole community at drop-in sessions and will ask for feedback through a variety of channels. In the meantime, we’re grateful to iwi and councils who are helping as we shape options that can deliver the strongest outcomes.

Keeping property owners up-to-date by email

Many property owners within the O2NL preferred corridor have provided us with their email address, and we’ve been working to get in touch with others.

You can help by passing on this news to friends and neighbours within your community. 

If you know of property owners within the O2NL preferred corridor who haven’t received our email, please encourage them to get in touch with us at o2nl@nzta.govt.nz with their email address.  Or, if they don’t have internet access, by phone on 0508 625 4636.

More information and support

Visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz/o2nl to find about our work in the corridor or check out:

• www.nzta.govt.nz/o2nl-proposed-new-highway for information on the new highway, or
• www.nzta.govt.nz/o2nl-safer-roads-and-roadsides to find out about work to make our existing roads and roadsides safer.

For more information on the Ōtaki to north of Levin project, contact us at o2nl@nzta.govt.nz