9 August 2019

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Chris Bishop MP
ACT
[email address]
REF: OIA-5385

Dear Mr Bishop

Request made under the Official Information Act 1982

Further to the NZ transport Agency’s letter of 25 July 2019, we can now provide a response to your
email of 2 July 2019 requesting a copy of the NZ Transport Agency’s response to s9(2)(a)
(ref:
OIA-5372) under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).   INFORMATION

s9(2)(a)  request is attached as Appendix 1 to this letter. The Transport Agency’s response is
attached as Appendix 2.

Under section 28 of the Act, you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review my response to your
request. The contact details for the Ombudsman can be located at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.
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If you would like to discuss this reply with the Transport Agency, please contact Leisa Coley, Manager
Ministerial Services, by email to [email address] or by phone on s9(2)(a)
.
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Yours sincerely
s9(2)(a)
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Richard May
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Senior Manager Government & Governance

Appendix 1.

From: Malcolm Lewis [mailto:[email address]]
Sent: Friday, 28 June 2019 11:14 AM
To: [email address]
Subject: Transport Questions in Wellington Region

Under the Official Information Act, can NZTA please answer the following questions for me:
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4.  Can NZTA provide the amount of time taken between the announcements of the RoNS
programme to the start of construction on the M2PP Expressway and how this compares to the
Transport Minister's claim that it would take at least 8 years to getting the Melling Interchange Project
to a point where it could be constructed.

5.  Can NZTA provide the amount of fees spent on consultants in the past 10 years on the Melling
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interchange project.

6.  Can NZTA please confirm that the Melling interchange is considered an Crash Black Spot due to
the high number of crashes that occur here annually.

7.  Can NZTA please confirm that the cost estimate for the delayed Melling project is $130 m and
benefits 40,000 users a day.

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9.  Can NZTA confirm that at the workshops held for the Ngauranga to Petone cycleway, NZTA
received comments that the Nauranga to Petone section "isn't even the worst part" with Melling noted
by cyclists to be the worst cycle spot on SH2 in the Hutt Valley.
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I look forward to your quick response on these matters.

Regards,
s9(2)(a)

9 August 2019
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s9(2)(a)

REF: OIA-5372
ACT
Dear s9(2)(a)
Request made under the Official Information Act 1982
Thank you for your email of 28 June 2019 requesting information under the Official
Information Act 1982 (the Act). Your specific questions and the NZ Transport Agency’s
responses are outlined below:
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5.  Can NZTA provide the amount of fees spent on consultants in the past 10 years on
the Melling interchange project.
The  amount  of  fees  spent  on  consultants  to  date  on  the  Melling  interchange  project  is
$1,994,592 (excluding GST).

Melling Gateway Strategic Case 2014
$101,132 (excl GST),
Melling IBC 2017
$377,000 (excl GST)
Melling DBC 2017-ongoing
$1,516,460 (excl GST) spent as at 21 June 2019
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Total to date:
$1,994,592 (excl GST) spent as at 21 June 2019

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6.  Can NZTA please confirm that the Melling interchange is considered an Crash
Black Spot due to the high number of crashes that occur here annually.
The Transport Agency does not classify intersections as “Crash Black Spots”. However,
as noted in the re-evaluation report, “Safety considerations are not considered one of the
major drivers for the implementation of transport improvements, as the number of DSIs
mean that the Melling Intersection does not feature on the Transport Agency’s High-Risk
Intersections Guide and therefore is less critical than many other intersections from a
safety perspective nationally.”

The  Melling  Transport  Improvements  project’s  Indicative  Business  Case,  completed  in
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2017, identified the following issues with the Melling intersection:

•  High and increasing traffic volumes, and intersections with insufficient capacity, result
in delays and increasing variability in journey times in peak times and weekends.
•  Configuration of intersections either side of Melling Bridge, some of which are in a high
volume and high-speed environment, is causing a high number of crashes and deaths
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and serious injuries.
•  The  quality  of  infrastructure  constrains  access  to  alternative  modes  and  leads  to
unnecessary car travel between SH2 and Lower Hutt at Melling.

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A high crash rate and flooding in storm events results in (key) journeys through the Melling
intersections being impacted on a regular basis.

7.  Can NZTA please confirm that the cost estimate for the delayed Melling project is
$130 m and benefits 40,000 users a day.
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The Melling Transport Improvements project is currently in the Detailed Business Case
phase, which is expected to be completed and considered in early 2020. We will have
more certainty around project costs and benefits once the Detailed Business Case is
completed. However, I can confirm that the indicative business case completed in 2017
estimated the project to cost $120-$175 million.

SH2 south of Melling has trips totalling 35,000 average annual daily traffic (AADT), while
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Melling Bridge has trips totalling 23,000 AADT. This information and information on the
objectives and benefits of the project are included in the re-evaluation report published
in 2019:
www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/projects/melling-transport-improvements/melling-independent-
re-evaluation-report-20181128.pdf.

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10. Can  NZTA  confirm  that  at  the  workshops  held  for  the  Ngauranga  to  Petone
cycleway, NZTA received comments that the Nauranga to Petone section "isn't even
the worst part" with Melling noted by cyclists to be the worst cycle spot on SH2 in
the Hutt Valley.
The Transport Agency has engaged with cyclists and the community at several phases
of work on the Wellington to Hutt Valley walking and cycling link. This has included
surveys, focus groups, submissions from stakeholder groups, public open days, online
feedback opportunities and others. Key themes from these phases of engagement are
reported back to the public.
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There has been a broad range of feedback, which has included concerns about safety at
Melling, but investment in the Wellington to Hutt Valley link is supported by a large ACT
majority of people and organisations who have provided feedback (including cyclists and
cycling groups).

Full reports of each engagement phase are published on our website:

•  2012 engagement - https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/projects/w2hvlink/docs/n2p-
cyclist-survey-findings.pdf
•  2014 engagement - https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/projects/w2hvlink/docs/w2hvlink-
consultation-report-20141110.pdf
•  2017 engagement - https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/projects/wellington-to-hutt-
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valley-walking-and-cycling-link/W2HV-April-May-2017-consultation-report-201706.pdf

Summaries are also published:

•  2012 engagement - https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/projects/w2hvlink/docs/n2p-
executive-summary-cycle-groups.pdf
•
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  2014 engagement - https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/projects/w2hvlink/docs/w2hvlink-
consultation-report-summary-20150211.pdf
•  2017 engagement - https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/projects/wellington-to-hutt-
valley-walking-and-cycling-link/W2HV-April-May-2017-consultation-report-summary-
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201706.pdf

The Transport Agency does acknowledge that cycling safety is a concern at the Melling
intersection. We are currently completing the detailed business case for Melling transport
improvements which will consider safety for walking and cycling through the Melling
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intersection area.

For some journeys, the Petone to Melling section of the Wellington to Hutt Valley Link
will provide a safer, separated alternative to entering and exiting State Highway 2 at the
Melling intersection.

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With respect to the information that has been withheld, I do not consider that in the
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circumstances of this case, the withholding of that information is outweighed by other
considerations which render it desirable, in the public interest, to make that information
available.

Under section 28 of the Act, you have the right to complain to the Ombudsman about the
information that was refused under this request. More information about the Ombudsman is
available online at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.
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If you would like to discuss this reply with the Transport Agency, please contact Ministerial
Services by email to [email address].
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Yours sincerely

s9(2)(a)
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Kevin Reid
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Senior Manager System Design

Document Outline