Funding for Wright Road approved

Whangarei District Mayor Sheryl Mai is thrilled to announce major progress will be made on dust issues this year.

“The NZ Transport Agency has approved funding to seal another 2.52km of the Wright/McCardle logging route. The estimated cost of this work is $1.3M ($50k in 2016/17 for investigations and fees and $1,250k in 2017/18 for physical works).”

Mayor Mai said that the road will be sealed where it passes occupied houses, not its entire length, provided Council agrees to fund the local share when it meets next Thursday, “and I am sure it will.”

“We celebrate this outcome. We are the first Council to apply for funding using the Agency’s new dust hazard criteria, we have been successful, and we intend to apply for more funding for the rest of the road, and potentially other roads in the District.”

The Mayor said WDC’s application had to reach a very high bar. Wright road is unique because it has a very high volume of logging traffic which will continue long into the future.

“Physical work on the road should happen next summer.

“Thank you to Councillor Greg Martin and Deputy Mayor Sharon Morgan who have battled long and hard to get this result,” she said.
“Thanks also go to the Agency, the staff who worked to get the application in, and the community members who have campaigned so hard. Working together works.

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