Te Ahu a Turanga - Manawatū Tararua Highway open for motorists
Te Ahu a Turanga is a 11.5-kilometre four-lane highway that runs between Palmerston North, weaving through windfarms to the Tararua town of Woodville.
The $824 million route replaces the State Highway 3 through the Manawatū Gorge which was shut due to slips in 2017.
Project manager Grant Kauri said the sight of the first vehicles on the road on Wednesday morning was a special moment.
"The closure of the Manawatū Gorge Road had such a significant impact on people in Manawatū and Tararua.
"We know the surrounding communities have struggled with the closure so being able to build them a significantly more resilient, safer and efficient road has been a huge privilege."
Kauri said it would encourage more travel and support economic growth in the lower and central North Island and the East Coast.
Joy Kopa, from the Positively Woodville community group, said residents and businesses in the town had been holding their breath for the opening.
"It is strange to think we now have a young generation who have never travelled through 'the gorge' and have no memory of the road that served Woodville for so long.
"This new highway will be the new gateway to Tararua and Woodville is proud to be the town that welcomes travellers to our district."
Stakeholders at the ribbon cutting ceremony last Saturday.
Photo:
RNZ / Pokere Paewai
A ribbon cutting ceremony
was held for the road on Saturday
.
At the time Transport Minister Chris Bishop said it was an important day for the local communities.
"It has been a very large investment from the government but a very important one, and it's going to be a fantastic resilient new road and be one that will last for generations to come."
It's expected the 11.5km route will take less than 15 minutes to drive, an improvement on the windy alternative routes over the Saddle Road and Pahiatua Track that were in use for the past eight years.
Chair of Horizons Regional Council Rachel Keedwell said she hoped the new highway would be a much safer drive then the alternatives.
Horizons Regional Council spanned communities on both sides of the ranges, and Keedwell said the closure had been a big deal for the Tararua District in particular.
"It's impacted on how people get to work, it's impacted on how the community joins in to Palmerston North, and financially, people have borne the brunt of that, businesses as well as locals, and so bringing the connection back together it just makes it seamless from one side of the region to the other."
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