Changes proposed for Taylors Road

Changes proposed for Taylors Road

On a bleak Sunday evening (May 18), NZTA Waka Kotahi dropped a bombshell at the Manakua Hall when it announced proposed changes to the Ōtaki to North Levin (Ō2NL expressway.

Most stunned were Manakau residents, who heard plans for a bridge to link Manakau Heights with the village were to be dropped, but there were implications for Ōtaki, too.

Although not new news, it sunk in that with no on/off expressway access points between Tararua Road in Levin and Taylors Road at Ōtaki, residents of the villages between – Manakau, Kuku and Ōhau – would have to use the old highway. If they wanted to go south past Ōtaki, they would have to link up with a new connection to Taylors Road and drive through the shopping precinct to connect with the Kāpiti expressway at Ōtaki Gorge Road.

While some Ōtaki retailers have voiced concern at the re-emergence of unwanted traffic, others are more optimistic, hoping Horowhenua motorists will take the time to stop for some shopping or a coffee.

Residents on the Ōtaki Plateau – especially those on Te Manuao Road and Waitohu Valley Road – will notice more traffic as the link between the old highway and Taylors Road is restored.

More pleased are likely to be Taylors Road residents, who currently have their road blocked from directly entering the current State Highway 1. They have had to wind their way under the northen end of the Kāpiti expressway and across the old Waitohu Stream bridge and onto the Plateau to go north, or south through the shops to Ōtaki Gorge Road.

They will also have an easier time coming home from the south. An expressway off-ramp is planned, which will link to a new roundabout that will direct them onto Taylors Road.

There is no off-ramp from the north at Taylors Road. Traffic will use the current offramp leading up to the Plateau. Drivers in the area will also need to use the Plateau on-ramp to go north on the expressway, as they do now.

At Levin, the promised full interchange at Tararua Road is proposed to be a roundabout, with the road narrowing to just one lane each way north of it.

 Both Horowhenua and Kāpiti councils issued a joint statement in late May saying it wasn’t the road they were promised.

The statement said the design changes were driven by short-term budget pressures, rather than long-term needs.

“We need a road that works for all Horowhenua and Kāpiti residents, both now and in the future,” it said.

The councils said their communities had engaged in good faith throughout the project, including the Environment Court process.

Residents and others with concerns are urged to write to the minister and NZTA: chris.bishop@parliament.govt.nz and boardsecretariat@nzta.govt.nz.