The latest vision of a new $42 million Caversham Valley highway has been approved for public consultation, despite concerns about a potential "design flaw" blocking the road south for some motorists.
Members of the Dunedin City Council (DCC) infrastructure services committee voted to approve the project's latest manifestation - called option 3a - for public consultation yesterday.
The new plan would see a four-lane "arterial route" running from Andersons Bay Rd to Lookout Point, rather than the original vision of a motorway, a report by DCC senior transportation planner Lisa Owens said.
However, Deputy Mayor Syd Brown and Cr Michael Guest questioned the design plans, which would prevent some motorists from accessing the highway from Lookout Point to drive south.
The designs saw access blocked at that point, for safety reasons, with an overbridge built to allow motorists to cross the highway. Those wanting to drive south would have to drive to Concord before joining the highway.
"I'm concerned about that - that I see as a flaw in it," Cr Guest said.
However, yesterday's presentation to councillors by New Zealand Transport Agency, Opus and DCC staff acknowledged more detail was needed.
The present design would be presented for public consultation, ahead of a NZTA regional funding hearing next year, but was "not definitive at all", Opus project manager David Boniface told councillors.
NZTA regional network manager Murray Clarke, speaking after yesterday's meeting, told the Otago Daily Times the exact price and funding arrangements were yet to be confirmed, but the project's cost was estimated at $42 million.
The highway project would be considered for funding by the NZTA's regional funding committee in April, but he was confident existing design issues could be resolved ahead of any decision.
Cr Teresa Stevenson abstained from yesterday's vote after questioning the merits of the design, which she feared could unnecessarily divert traffic on to council-owned roads.
