Louise Upston
Louise Upston has told Waipā District Council it is vital it identifies a site for a third bridge in Cambridge so the issue is on central Government and Waka Kotahi’s radar.
The Taupō MP broke her silence in a social media post last week saying as Cambridge’s population continues to outstrip forecasts, the need for a third bridge grows.
“Any further delays will put our community under enormous pressure so I’m working hard for this community, working with the council to ensure we make that happen,” she said in a video.
“What we do know is the two bridges are already kind of at capacity. As soon as you take one out for maintenance and repairs, it causes all sorts of challenges.”
The News asked Upston why she had not spoken out sooner and she said she had not wanted to get involved while it was a local body election issue.
We also asked who in council she had been talking to because a spokesperson told us no council staff had spoken to Upston on the third bridge issue since April when former mayor Jim
Mylchreest wrote to her saying because there had been “misinformation circulating” he wanted to set the record straight.
A month after the letter was sent, the Waipā Transport Strategy confirmed the need for another river crossing.
Upston said she had spoken to Mylchreest but the latest formal contact between her and the council happened this week when the MP met new mayor Susan O’Regan in Cambridge.
After Upston posted to social media last week, Waipā council posted a response saying to Upston:
“Perhaps you’re not up to speed with this project,” before going on to say it was not easy to confirm a location “and why for the sake of Cambridge (including Cambridge landowners) we must get it right.”
The posting referred Upston to the Cambridge Connections project which is now underway with stakeholder information sessions being held this week.
Upston said she would attend one of the sessions and said she asked O’Regan whether that project would determine a preferred location and O’Regan told her it would.
“I’m concerned if a site isn’t found it will place undue pressure on the community and businesses,” said Upston.
It was crucial in future proofing the transport infrastructure.
The stoush on social media continued with a third bridge supporter saying Upston’s support was needed to convince council, to which the council responded: “The council does not need to be ‘convinced’. The Waipā Transport Strategy adopted in May this year has already confirmed the need for an additional river crossing. Work is already underway to secure critical government funding for the bridge so that Waipā ratepayers (not just those in Cambridge) do not have to bear the full cost.”
Asked by one of the third bridge supporters why there was no mention of urgency in the strategy, the council responded:
“It’s because the decision on where a third bridge would go will have a huge impact on Cambridge long-term, including on neighbouring residents and businesses. For example, a third bridge location would require council to designate land, meaning the land would be zoned for future road use. A lot of land would be needed and once designated, council would likely be required to borrow money to buy that land, even though the bridge will be some years away. A designation may also require existing road corridors to be widened, forcing council to buy further land from residents or businesses, some of whom may not wish to sell.”
Upston told The News she did not have a preferred site for a third bridge as she was not a roading engineer but it was a priority project.
