Highway news greeted with joy

“I wanted to jump for joy and you could not wipe the smiles off the faces of Councillors when they heard the news,” said Whangarei Mayor Sheryl Mai, following the surprise announcement of a half-a-billion roading project for the Whangarei District.

Minister of Transport Simon Bridges announced that work would begin on a four-lane highway to stretch from Whangarei to the Port Marsden Highway roundabout at Oakleigh in 2019.

“He made this announcement, out of the blue at the sod turning ceremony for the Kamo Shared Path and everyone bust into spontaneous applause!” she said.

“This is outstanding news! I am still stunned!”

“Yesterday I was joking that the Brynderwyn’s work and the work between Albany and Wellsford made me hold out hopes for a motorway all the way to Auckland, and here we are the very next day, celebrating the announcement of the single biggest roading project ever seen in the North.
Minister Bridges was in Whangarei to celebrate the beginning of the the $6.6 million Kamo shared path, funded by a $2 million Government investment through the Urban Cycleways Fund (UCF), $2.4 million National Land Transport Fund (NLTF) funding and ($2.2 million) from Whangarei District Council.

The project will deliver a 6km off-road shared path for use by cyclists and pedestrians that is expected to attract over 6000 people a day.

When it is completed in 2018, the Kamo shared path will be one of the three routes that will make up the primary Whangarei cycle network. The Onerahi route is now open, and work on the Raumanga/Maunu route is ongoing.

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