Road network’s significant outcome
PLANS for a more efficient roading network between Feilding and Palmerston North received a significant boost with the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding by the Manawatu District and Palmerston North City Councils and Transit NZ.
The sign-off has allowed the three road controlling authorities to move forward with projects over the next five years and implement the first stages of proposed long-term road network improvements.
Assets Group Manager, Richard Kirby, said there were several routes between Feilding and Palmerston North that motorists could take, but each of the options contained some inefficiencies.
“What this is trying to do is focus on one or two main routes and make them more efficient so people can get between the two centres, and the district and city, quicker and more effectively.”
He said the package of works, estimated to cost $29 million, was undertaken because of the increasing volume of traffic and the new industrial area on the north-east corner of Palmerston North, where the presence of Foodstuffs next year would increase heavy vehicle movements by 300 plus a day.
“Although the current roading network may be able to cope with that, it wouldn’t take long for the roads to become even more choked. We are being pre-emptive by putting in a better network to cater for that demand.”
Mr Kirby said intersection upgrades on Rangitikei Line (State Highway 3) involving Tremaine Avenue, John F Kennedy Drive and the Kairanga Bunnythorpe Rd, and the Airport Drive link to Railway Rd, would start in the next 12 to 18 months.
In the Bunnythorpe area, a preferred option study was still to be completed, to be followed by a scheme assessment report and a formal public consultation process.
He said the closure of Milson Line, and the diversion of traffic, may have accelerated the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, but it was only one part of the package.
“One of the key things to note is that both Milson Line and Railway Rd, which provide key connections between the city and district, feed into residential areas that are severely congested.
“The closure of Milson Line and the focusing of traffic onto Rangitikei Line and Main Rd will help alleviate some of that congestion and feed some of the inter-regional traffic out onto the principal routes.”
Mr Kirby said the planned projects represented one of the biggest schemes involving the strategic roading network in the greater Manawatu.
“Some may argue that it’s a direct result of what’s happening in the city, but it’s fair to say we do have current inefficiencies in our current network that have to be dealt with.
“I think this is a great outcome for the district, as it allows the three authorities to meld together their desires and goals and achieve a good result for all road users within the region,” said Mr Kirby.