Transport operators hurting as Taranaki cut off for the seventh time in 12 months
As I write this Taranaki’s main northbound route, State Highway 3, remains closed, with major slip damage closing the Awakino Gorge between Mokau and Piopio. Digging through the extensive slips is going to take time, exactly how long remains unclear as this goes to press, but the latest estimate is Saturday 2nd May at the earliest .
For the transport operators of Taranaki, and those travelling through it, this is all too familiar territory. Detours of hundreds of kilometres up State Highways 4 and 1, juggling driver hours and negotiating the extra diesel cost, made worse by the Iran conflict, with customers.
By our count, this is the seventh time in the last 12 months State Highway 3 has been closed. For a region like Taranaki where reliable alternative routes are minimal, keeping State Highway 3 open matters.
At the risk of stating the obvious, we are now starting to accept a changed reality – more rain, more frequently – a wetter climate. We need to adjust how we build infrastructure to reflect that reality.
This week I attended the Infrastructure Commission’s Symposium in Auckland, where resilience was a front and centre topic. Minister for Infrastructure Chris Bishop gave a raw assessment in his keynote address outlining the Government’s direction for infrastructure. New Zealand, he said, is in the top 10% of OECD for infrastructure spend per capita, but in the bottom 10% for what we get. We are all poorer because of our failing assets.
Like most countries, we are behind in maintaining our infrastructure, we have a long list of new infrastructure needed, we don’t have enough money to pay for it all, and the damage from weather events is making it worse.
State Highway 3’s Awakino Gorge couldn’t be a starker example.
Minister Bishop and the Infrastructure Commission are clear on what we need to do to fix this. Look after the assets we have better. Make smarter, evidence-based decisions on which new assets will deliver the best bang for buck. Stop throwing good money after bad projects. Improve our revenue recovery and invest wisely in what we can afford.
Wise words. For Taranaki, and our roading investments in general, this means some tough decisions must be made. Revenue recovered for our Land Transport Fund via road user charges and fuel-excise duties is enough for maintenance and renewals, with not much leftover for new build. The frequent flooding and slips are making the problem worse.
The Infrastructure Commission says that 60 cents in every dollar of future infrastructure spend will need to be directed towards looking after what we’ve got – maintaining, renewing and replacing existing assets. For road networks, I believe the next immediate priority must be spending on resilience – making our existing assets stronger to cope with the worsening weather patterns.
NZTA has had notable success in Northland with State Highway 10 and the Brynderwyns showcasing how resilience spend can minimise road closures even when slips occur.
Having been closed every second month on average over the last year, State Highway 3 at the Awakino Gorge must surely be a contender for prioritised resilience works. Further down the road the Mount Messenger Bypass is well on the way to delivering safety improvements. Now the time has come to prioritise resilience improvements, to keep Taranaki reliably connected to Waikato.
Click here for NRC press release on the State Highway 3 closures.
Diesel supply update
The diesel fuel stocks have dropped from around 45 days cover (previously from 49 days) to 41. Onshore supply remains constant, at around 21 days cover. The Government has noted that while there is a dip in on water diesel stock, a ship is loading in Singapore, and the variations remain in normal pre-conflict range according to the fuel companies.
Fuel supply resilience has also had a shot in the arm this week with the Government making a deal to store more diesel at Marsden Point. Channel Infrastructure has been commissioned to increase storage by 93 million litres, which translates to approximately nine days additional diesel cover. This would see on shore stocks increase to around 30 days cover. Work is underway and expected to be in place to receive diesel by the end of May.
