Councillors Agree To Lobby Government For Bluff-Invercargill Highway Upgrade

The last stretch of national highway between Invercargill and Bluff has been left off the Government’s $20 billion roading fund for a much needed upgrade.

State Highway 1 was in poor condition and deputy Mayor Tom Campbell expressed his concern at Tuesday’s Infrastructure Committee meeting that none of the allocated money was coming south.

“We do always feel like the bridesmaid and never the bride as far as getting money for that road,” he said.

As a council he suggested that they should respond to that, given the 15 projects proposed were for not for anywhere south of the Waitaki.

Cr Campbell suggested they should write to Transport Minister Simeon Brown expressing concerns about the state of the highway, rather than “silently play nice in the crib where others don’t.”

His suggestion gained support from colleagues including mana whenua representative Evelyn Cook, who believed they should be more vocal about the urgent need for work on the highway.

“I think it is important we just don’t accept what we are being told that there is nothing for us.

“I think we should be saying this is really important. This is a lifeline and this is an important lifeline, so why do we keep missing out? We can’t be passive.

“In the event of an emergency, it is really a risky situation and what are they going to do about it?

Cr Grant Dermody said the Invercargill-Bluff highway was a regional asset that was not safe in its currently state and the letter should be supported by all the Southland Mayors.

Invercargill City Council infrastructure group manager Erin Moogan said they met with Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency representatives in Dunedin on Monday and the Bluff-Invercargill highway topic did come up in discussion.

“We did obviously advocate for the fact that Invercargill is not seeing sufficient investment into State Highway 1 there.

“What we were advised was currently within the programme they were looking to do work within the next 12 months to raise the road in that area approaching the estuary, but at this stage that is the only work they have programmed.”