Why the NZTA business case is flawed

The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) decision to backtrack on the Peka Peka south-facing ramps was based on a flawed and incomplete business case.

Without the Peka Peka ramps, most Te Horo and Peka Peka trips to and from the south will use Waikanae local roads.  As a result, there will be an extra 2,300 vehicles on them every day.  This means that an extra 6 million kms will be travelled on these local roads every year.

NZTA confirms their business case ignores this and its impact on people living in the district.  They make it quite clear they only considered the narrow issues of travelling times to and from Te Horo/Peka Peka and the confusing layout of the Peka Peka interchange.

What went wrong?

  • They limited the scope of their business case
They limited the scope of their business case to just the confusing access at Peka Peka, and the poor connectivity for the Peka Peka and Te Horo communities to the Expressway.  Nothing else was considered.

It is about much more than this.

  • They were scrambling to cope with a change of government
NZTA says its reversal of the previous decision to go ahead with the south-facing ramps at Peka Peka is because the current government has different priorities for its roading funding.  Yet in its business case, it did not apply the new government’s guidelines which focus on increasing safety, improving access, safeguarding the environment and achieving value for money.