3 April 2013
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has announced that the preferred route for the Rotorua Eastern Arterial (REA) is a route between Te Ngae Road and the Lake edge on land designated for this purpose since 1963.
At a Rotorua District Council meeting on Tuesday [2 April] this week and a meeting with local iwi representatives the agency's regional director Harry Wilson said the investigation into options to improve the city's eastern corridor and help to plan its future, identified this route - with some adjustments to the designation - as the best performing option in terms of supporting the city's economic growth objectives and managing congestion through the busy corridor.
Mr Wilson said the preferred option was chosen because it will deliver the best outcomes and benefits including:
- Improved travel time and journey reliability.
- More efficient connections.
- Easing congestion by separating state highway and local traffic.
- Improved safety by reducing conflicting travel movements at intersections.
- Best long-term solution to meet the needs of the Rotorua Eastern corridor and wider region.
- Enable lake water quality improvements to proceed.
The route chosen is the most economic option and takes into consideration safety, efficiency and wider economic benefits with the least impact on directly affected land owners and businesses.
Mr Wilson said the next step for the project is to confirm the extent of land required and to prepare a Notice of Requirement (NoR) for alteration to the existing designation which has been confirmed in the City Plan since 1963. The NoR will be lodged with Rotorua District Council and if confirmed will be included in the District Plan.
Once the NoR is lodged with the Council, it will be publicly notified and a public hearing may be held. Any party may make submissions in support or opposing, and request to be heard' at the Council Hearing. This is a very important part of the process.
He says as a key part of preparation of the NoR, NZTA needs to complete the consultation process with key stakeholders, affected land owners and iwi.
The Council would then make a recommendation, with or without conditions, and if NZTA is happy with the recommendation, they would accept it and the Council would then notify submitters and directly affected landowners of the outcome. If there are no appeals to the decision, the changes to the existing designation would be included in the District Plan.
Mr Wilson says no date has been set for construction of the new highway as this is dependent on future demand. However, the agency in conjunction with the local council will proceed with planning for this road now to ensure it is ready to go when demand requires.