'Like putting the walls of a house up and then designing the roof': Councillors rail against KiwiRail over upgrade

The Team Reporter from The Press

From local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:

“I’ve never heard such a pathetic lot of drivel.”

Councillor Stuart Wilson pulled no punches in his critique of a joint Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency and KiwiRail update on the Walnut Ave upgrade project.


Waka Kotahi director regional relationships James Caygill said the project remained on track as planned.

“I can understand community frustration at what looks like delays between the road component of the project and the level crossing of the project.

“This is the way the project was always planned to roll out. It hasn’t been delayed.

“But being in the middle of it is like being in the eye of the storm.”

KiwiRail’s southern network services manager, Mark Heissenbuttel, said they had been aligned with Waka Kotahi on the project all the way through and its design was progressing.

He said to prepare the crossing, the complex design required a specialist skill set and they “need to understand the design of the actual roading network and have that fully locked down before we can start our design”.

Heissenbuttel said while the design was progressing, the concrete slab installation was booked in for August 26 and needed a month to cure. As soon as that was complete “we can start the process of upgrading that track”.

“We are confident and committed in the November time period of having that work completed,” Heissenbuttel said.

That didn’t fly with Wilson.

“It’s like putting the walls of a house up and then saying we’ll start designing the roof,” he said.

“It looks to me like NZTA is finished and [KiwiRail] should have been ready to go to pour your concrete.”

He said Waka Kotahi’s plans must have been finished months ago as it had finished its physical work, but KiwiRail “haven’t even started physical work, let alone finished your planning”.

Caygill and Heissenbuttel both reiterated that the two parts of the project could not be completed safely at the same time, and rail was always scheduled to follow the road works in the project, with a completion date in November.

“To complete the planning work at the KiwiRail end is not a quick process,” Caygill said.

The complexities in its design takes time from when the roading plan was completed, he said.

However, he conceded the timing of the two parts of the project could have been better communicated.

As for the temporary intersection, Caygill said the upgrade to the water filled barrier forming the temporary roundabout, had made a substantial improvement.

He reassured the council that Waka Kotahi would continue to monitor the traffic management and safety aspects at the site.

Councillor Carolyn Cameron suggested looking at moving the temporary road crossing further north of the roundabout, as it was causing safety issues, which Caygill said he would look into.

The councillors also expressed their hope that the concerns and issues being experienced during the Walnut Ave project would serve as a lesson, as Waka Kotahi and KiwiRail ramp up planning for a similar project in Tinwald due to start next year.

Caygill said as the project was still in detailed design he was unable to confirm any proposed timeline on the Tinwald project.

Mayor Neil Brown quipped it may be better to start with the rail component first.