Answers are needed from the Government about when Transmission Gully will be open to the public, National’s Transport spokesperson Simeon Brown says.

“With tens of thousands of Wellingtonians soon to hit the road for the Christmas break, people will be wondering when the new Transmission Gully will be opening to the Public, and what the plan is to get it open as soon as possible.

“While the Minister of Transport has been quick to blame the Transmission Gully road builders for the delayed opening of the road, the Minister has been silent when it comes to when the road might actually be open and what the plan is to ensure it is open as soon as possible.

“Transmission Gully is the most significant infrastructure investment in the Wellington Region in decades and will provide significant transport benefits to those getting into and out of Wellington.

“The road will also ensure that there is more resilience in the transport network around Wellington, with the lack of resilience being put to the test just last week when there was a major slip on the existing road leaving Wellington holding up motorists for hours.

“While a number of consenting and seal issues have been identified on Transmission Gully, reports that it has been used by Police to get to Wellington last week for a protest outside Parliament confirm the road is in an almost complete state.

“National is proud to have made the decisions when we were in office to build Transmission Gully, after the road had been talked about for so many years. What we need now is a new opening date, and a plan to ensure that the road can be opened for the public to use as soon as possible.