Wellington’s newest local body political party, the Wellington Party, welcomes the news that if returned to Government, the National Party will accelerate the construction work on the proposed duplicate Mt Victoria tunnel.

Party President, David Lloyd, says easing congestion in and around the Mt Victoria area, as an early step in the Let’s Get Wellington Moving (LGWM) project, is a sensible first step towards providing much needed relief for the Eastern Ward residents.

“Getting on with the second tunnel and other state highway improvements is overdue.”

“Business productivity across Eastern Wellington will improve, this will have major gains for the airport, new urban developments and the hundreds of small businesses in the likes of Rongotai, Lyall Bay and Miramar.

“Advice from both Treasury and the Ministry of Transport underscored the need for work on a second tunnel and other improvements to be accelerated to mitigate the significant disruption that rapid transit construction and operation will have on the network,” says Lloyd.

Wellington Party member and new Eastern Ward Wellington City Councilor, Sean Rush, says the Wellington City Council was due to consider elements of the LGWM package this week and that the possibility of a new Government accelerating construction of the second tunnel would be welcomed by Eastern Ward residents.

“Around 75% of the conversations I had with voters in the East during the local body campaign were about getting on with the Mt Vic tunnel so this petition will really resonate with them.

“The council is expecting indicative business cases back in early 2021 which seems a long time away for a project that was all but ready to go in 2013.

“The East will be pleased that National has pledged it’s support for this much needed infrastructure,” Rush says.

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