Minister Chris Bishop on Ngauraunga to Petone Path Opening

The Ngauraunga to Petone Shared Path, Te Ara Tupua, officially opens to the public tomorrow.

Transport Minister Chris Bishop joins Nick Mills to talk about the opneing.

The project will provide a new walking and cycling route between Wellington and Lower Hutt and improve transport reliability and resilience along SH2 and the Hutt Valley rail line. 

Bishop says the project is100 years in the making but serious planning began in 2013/2014, and cost $350 million. 

Te Ara Tupua formally opens at 2pm today, and tomorrow May 16th the public open day

Plus, Nick gets an update on Wellingtons SH1 improvements. Bishop says although we will not see diggers for "some time", the government is committed to the tunnels and fast track applications are on the way. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Wellington Mornings podcast with Nick Mills
from News Talk.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Sa'd be Chris Bishop of the Minister for Transport on
the line.

Speaker 1 (00:16):
Good morning, Chris, good morning.

Speaker 3 (00:18):
How are we We're great?

Speaker 2 (00:19):
How are you doing.

Speaker 3 (00:20):
I'm good, thank you, I'm very well. I'm looking forward
to the opening of the new shared pass this afternoon.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Can you can you give me the pronunciation of it
so I get it right?

Speaker 3 (00:29):
To Ada Tupua? I think is how you.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
You did it perfect? You did a perfect congratulation.

Speaker 3 (00:35):
I don't know about perfect. My torio is not very good,
but to.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
Lot lot worse than yours, and I would love it
to be better. But okay, I mean how big a
deal is this for the Wellington region.

Speaker 3 (00:46):
I think it's significant in the sense that people have
been waiting for it for a long time. I mean
the original plans go back like one hundred years to
be honest for this if you want to get technical
about it. But really serious planning started around twenty thirteen,
twenty fourteen. I remember, as a as a young candidate
for my first election, going to a a lot to
announce that you know, work was planning, work was starting,

(01:10):
and here we are twelve years later and it's finally finished,
which is he tells you something in and of itself
about how long it takes to do things in New York.
But yeah, I mean it's great. It's a resilient appropriate
first and foremost protect the railway line and the state
highway obviously, but also it's a it's a it's a
cycle way and a shed path for kids and family
that use and scooter and trike and bike and cycle

(01:31):
and run and walk. It's going to be great.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
Have you actually cycled or walked there or been down
on a motorbike orting it?

Speaker 3 (01:38):
I've been down a couple of times to check it
out as constructions happened, most recently probably been a month
or so ago, and it's it's looking fantastic and looking
forward to the opening. I haven't cycled on it yet.
It's not it's not formally open till this afternoon. We've
got we've got you know, the great and the good
coming together to cut the ribbon and formally open it.
And then there'll be an open day tomorrow morning, you know, Saturday,
and which people will be able to get on and music.

Speaker 2 (01:59):
And that's the way we go. It's all open.

Speaker 3 (02:02):
Yeah, all open tomorrow morning yet so formal opening this afternoon,
but people can actually ride on it tomorrow.

Speaker 2 (02:06):
So as a local, where does it? Where does it
come out? In Wellington? Where does where? Where would you
would you end up by the stadium somewhere? Where do
you end up?

Speaker 3 (02:14):
It basically connects into the existing cycle way along the
Hut Road and formed in there, so you go over
the railway line through through Narunga and connects into the
existing cycle way which is not perfect. It's that Hut
Road cycle way going into into Thorndon there along the
Hut Road and the ones and end of it, so
there's not a perfect cycle way, but it's now it's
been there already. And then obviously at the Tony end

(02:35):
it connects into the Estnad and you know the walkway
along the Estnad which again is not perfect either, and
then obviously around it in Eastbourne in my patch in
the Hut it connects into the Eastern Bays shed Path,
which I just opened a month or so ago, which
is pretty awesome as well.

Speaker 2 (02:51):
The thing that concerns me a little bit because I've
thought about this since it was getting close to opening.
There's no really really that you actually end in a
hub of anything, isn't it. You end up in sort
of you know, both ends. You end in and commercial
and industrial area.

Speaker 3 (03:07):
That's true, but those are the businesses and the buildings
that are there, so you know, you've got to sort
of work around what's already there. And I think a
lot of people will use it to get into town.
I think you will see people from the use it more.
I mean the current cycle way as a joke. It's
dangerous and guestifying for people. So I think you will
see people using it more. And I think it'll be
a recreation for people on the weekends, you know. I

(03:29):
think it will become a little bit of a terroist attraction.
It's a pretty impressive structure, to be honest. So yeah,
so how.

Speaker 2 (03:34):
Long would it take you to bike from Patoni to
the city would your bike to come to work? Yeah?

Speaker 3 (03:41):
Well, actually, it's funny you say that. Back in the day,
Trevor Mallard and I had a bike race to promote
bike to Work Day. I think it was back in
twenty sixteen or seventeen, and a top Trevor. I'm trying
to remember a top Trevor like twenty minutes, maybe even
Quacker from BOTTONI we went from halfway long the estanhad
and went to Parliament. It took him like twenty minutes.

(04:02):
It took me about forty. But he was on a
real bike, you know, like a actual race bike, and
I was on a mountain bike. And he's you know,
he's a lot to what he was and probably still
has a lot better than I am. So yeah, I mean, look,
you know it's there. I know people who will run it.
You know, it'll be a great run. It's four and
a half kilometers from all it is four and a
half k well the site, the cycle way. But yeah,

(04:24):
that the new the new shed part is yet.

Speaker 2 (04:26):
Wow what did they end up costing us?

Speaker 3 (04:30):
About three hundred and fifty million. Wow, it's a lot
of money. Yeah, I know, I'm not I've got to say,
I'm I'm not very happy about the cost, to be
honest with you. It's a lot of money for I mean,
it's an impressive structure, but yeah, it's a lot of money.
I'm not. I'm not wild about the cost. But it's
open now and so we just hit on the now.

Speaker 2 (04:51):
While I've got you online, I've got to ask you
about the second Mount Victoria Tunnel, because I'm getting really
concerned as a talk back host, and everything's gone a
bit quiet, and everybody's sort of shuffling papers from one
desk to another desk, and you know we're only six
months from that that that spade being in the ground.

Speaker 3 (05:08):
No, I wouldn't get too worried about. There are spades
in the ground right now that they've been doing gear
tech works up in Mount Vic. There's gear tech work
happening on the terrace, or has been in the last
few weeks right by raderdie Zeland House as I understand it,
that's the that's for the expansion of the terrace tunnel.
And there's some work work happening soon down on carro
Drive as well. So there's lots of work happening. And

(05:30):
n c TA is going to lodge the fast track consent.
I think, I think it's towards the end of the year.
It might be Q one next year, don't quote me
on that, but the beginning the consent ready to go
for it.

Speaker 2 (05:41):
So you're you're telling me right here right now that
we're still going to get a second Mount Victoria tunnel.

Speaker 3 (05:46):
Yeah, government's committed to a second Maut Victoria tunnel absolutely,
and you know there's a bit of a process to
go through. I get people wanted to start straight away,
but unfortunately, as people know, you can't do things straight away.
I mean, the protects not consented yet, so that there's
got to be a consent. Now we're going to you know,
there'll be a fast track application going and that will
shorten the time frame up and there's construction funding still

(06:08):
to still to be sort.

Speaker 2 (06:10):
Of well, why have we heard nothing from it? I
mean people have been trying to get a yes or
no for a while. Why have we not heard anything?

Speaker 3 (06:17):
Well that there's been quite a bit of community consultation.
That there was, you know, the public meeting a few
months ago in Kilbernie and high tight I as I
understand it, and a lot of people came to those meetings.
I think, I think there has been things happening. People
just start seeing, you know, diggers. I suppose it's the
point and you know they won't see them, you know,
for some time. But you know, from from the government's
point of view, it's a government priority and we're getting

(06:38):
on with it.

Speaker 2 (06:40):
That is amazing to hear I mean that is great
news for our for our listeners. I think there'll be
a lot of people be taking a sigh of relief.
Good luck for this afternoon. I mean, I think this
is I mean, apart from the cost which makes me
feel very unwell, the idea behind having some way of
getting from one from Platonia of the Hut to Wellington

(07:01):
if something major happens because you can walk it. I
think it's an increat credibly good idea and only four
k you'd almost walk to work if you're a fitness freak.
But so good luck with it, have a great afternoon
this afternoon with it, and all those listeners out there
garden try it this weekend, go and have a look
this Transport Minister Chris Bishop.

Speaker 1 (07:20):
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