NZTA doesn’t appear to share builder’s confidence on Transmission Gully opening date

Transmission Gully under construction in November, 2020. Photo / Mark Mitchell

ANALYSIS:

NZTA Waka Kotahi doesn’t appear to share the confidence of those building Transmission Gully that the road will open by the agreed date of September 27.

In a statement issued earlier this month Waka Kotahi took the trouble to lay out at great length just how much work there is left to do on the project, and what the consequences are if the road isn’t ready when it should be.

Transmission Gully is being built through a public-private partnership with the Wellington Gateway Partnership (WGP), and CPB Contractors and HEB Construction sub-contracted to carry out the design and construction.

Waka Kotahi transport services general manager Brett Gliddon said WGP has continued to advise it remains confident of meeting its contractual commitments and opening the 27km road on time.

Gliddon said these assurances were made “in spite of” the short window of time remaining to carry out a significant amount of work needed to open the road.

The builder has brought in additional resources from across the construction sector as part of its efforts, Gliddon said.

He said the 10 weeks ahead would be critical for the contractor and the builder.

“[There’s] a lot of work still to do in a relatively short space of time, in challenging winter conditions. That combination of factors means there continues to be a risk around achieving the agreed opening date”, Gliddon said.

Transmission Gully. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Furthermore, the road will need to undergo safety and asset quality assurance work, as well as compliance with environmental consent conditions.

Related articles

Greater Wellington Regional Council, as the environmental regulator, will need to sign off on certain conditions before the necessary consents can be issued allowing the motorway to legally open.

The consequences for not having the road open on time are severe. The builder will be liable for damages of more than $250,000 a day.

Furthermore, $7.5m of a $145.5m settlement covering the cost impacts of Covid-19 will only be paid if the road opens by September 27.

Porirua Mayor Anita Baker said as of last week she has not been briefed over doubts the road will open on time.

“We can only go by what they say, so we have to take it at face value.

“But I would be severely disappointed if it didn’t open in time after all the stop-goes.”

The $1.25b road is due to open in September. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The project was already behind schedule before the Covid-19 pandemic arrived and had an original opening date of April 2020.

It has also been bailed out before to the tune of $190.6m in a settlement over delays caused by the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake, and flooding around the same time.

The total cost of the Transmission Gully project following the latest settlement payment and contract variation is now $1.25b.

A review into Transmission Gully found serious flaws at the planning stage of the project, undermining the successful completion of the four-lane motorway, Infrastructure Minister Grant Robertson said when the document was made public.

“The review found there was a lack of transparency as to how key PPP decisions were being made, less than ideal consenting risk management, a non-PPP scheme design used in the PPP procurement, and the price was set far too low from the beginning.”

National Party transport spokesman Michael Woodhouse said it appeared whatever was happening behind the scenes now had not filled Waka Kotahi with confidence.

But his concern was that there should be no more “flip-flopping” over Transmission Gully’s contract.

“If WGP are true to their word, then great, but if they’re not, the contract speaks to what will happen next.

Although Woodhouse said he hoped the financial penalties would not need to be issued because “Wellingtonians have waited long enough for Transmission Gully to be finished”.

Woodhouse said he would take the contractor at its word.

“But I don’t know where my money would be,” he said.