Questions are being asked about whether 30 hectares of native forest really needs to be felled to make way for a long-awaited bypass in northern Taranaki.
An advisor to the project says it's "very odd" the re-evaluated alternative option was not documented Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
Details of another route for the State Highway 3, Mt Messenger Bypass have emerged that suggest had it been chosen, it would have met the budget and saved the forest.
Construction on the bypass is due to begin in September.
Documents released under the Official Information Act reveal the planned destruction of more than 30 hectares of native forest for the bypass could be avoided.
Waka Kotahi records show that another route following the existing one on State Highway 3 in Taranaki met the project objectives and was price competitive - leaving some questioning why the agency was planning to carve another passage through the Mangapekepeke Valley.
Poutama Charitable Trust spokesperson Marie Gibbs said the decision did not make sense.
"Comparing that to the option they've been pushing up the Mangapekepeke Valley destroying 18 hectares of wetlands and 30 plus hectares of native bush, it's a similar priced project with way less damage on the online route."
The trust has opposed the bypass along with Tony and Debbie Pascoe who farm in the Mangapekepeke Valley.
Gibbs said they had been in the dark about the details of the more environmentally-friendly and cost comparable route.
"The thing that's concerning to us is that it's March 2022 and we've been involved in this for four to five years and we've only just learnt about it."
Official documents show the online option was considered four years ago, when all the proposed bypass routes were re-evaluated against a budget of $150 million.
Artist impression of the Mt Messenger bypass project's southern tunnel entrance. Photo: Supplied
An advisor to the project - who RNZ has agreed not to identify - said the option came in at $206m.
That was comparable to Waka Kotahi's preferred Mangapekepeke Valley route which was priced just under $200m, down from $241m.
But the advisor said the Transport Agency's board was told the more environmentally-friendly alternative would cost a steep $380m - the original costing - not the re-evaluated price.
"That was never presented in the consents hearing and it's only come to light through the request for the board papers. It's very odd that something like that would not have been part of the documentation as part of the assessment of the alternatives that the territorial authority would need to go through."
Waka Kotahi said this information had been presented as evidence during consent hearings and in the Environment Court and High Court.
But Gibbs said the recently released documents raised questions about what the courts had been told.
"The equivalent option that NZTA presented to the court ... they told the courts it was $382m to deliver an online route that met the project objectives and they didn't disclose there was a $198m route with a new tunnel which met all the project objectives."
Waka Kotahi said the option along the existing highway had been assessed in detail and did not meet the project's resilience and safety objectives.
Manawhenua Ngāti Tama also scored it poorly from a cultural perspective.
Construction of the bypass was now likely to cost more than $300 million.