50 Victoria Street 
Private Bag 6995 
 
Wellington 6141 
 
New Zealand 
 
T 64 4 894 5400 
F 64 4 894 6100 
 
www.nzta.govt.nz 
 
 
 
 
 
 
28 April 2023 
 
 
 
 
 
 Patrick Dunford  
[FYI request #22293 email] 
 
REF: OIA-12321 
Dear Patrick 
 
Request made under the Official Information Act 1982 
 
Thank you for your email of 28 March 2023 requesting the following information under the Official 
Information Act 1982 (the Act): 
 
Concerning the report produced by WSP titled "SH1B Telephone Road/Holland Road 
Intersection and Rail Crossing" dated 3 March 2023 
 
My enquiry is to ascertain why the report completely ruled out and did not further investigate 
the option for the road to be lowered to create a grade separated crossing by passing 
underneath the railway line at Telephone Road. 
 
There is only in the report a single line entry titled "bridge or tunnel" which claims "not 
appropriate for context" and the option itself was claimed to fail both Kiwirail safety criteria 
when it would have passed both of them and therefore should have made it through to the 
shortlist of options to be further investigated. 
 
I am unclear what the meaning of "not appropriate for context" claim is given there are 
numerous similar underpasses in rural areas all along the East Coast main trunk railway. 
 
No specific investigation was undertaken for grade separation of the road, while maintaining rail on its 
current alignment. This option would be considerably more expensive than the other preferred options. 
 
In addition, this option was not considered feasible due to the ground and groundwater conditions in 
the area, and the construction requirements of building a tunnel under live rail tracks. Hence this 
option was not progressed in the multi-criteria analysis (MCA). 
 
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, KiwiRail and the Waikato District Council al  agree that there are 
viable and safe options for reopening the rail crossing. These options al  involve rebuilding the 
crossing and the adjacent intersection, as the low-cost options put forward do not meet safety 
requirements. 
 
While there are viable and safe options for reopening the rail crossing, there is no funding available in 
the current funding cycle (the 2021-24 National Land Transport Programme); however, Waka Kotahi 
 
  

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wil  apply for funding in the 2024-27 funding cycle. This means that for the foreseeable future, the rail 
crossing wil  remain closed to traffic.  
 
While the crossing wil  remain closed for vehicles, Waka Kotahi is planning to build a pedestrian/cyclist 
crossing over the railway line, with a school bus stop on the Hol and Road side, subject to final 
approval from KiwiRail. 
 
I acknowledge the impact this has had and wil  continue to have on the lives of some residents who 
live on or near Telephone Road. 
 
For more information about the investigation carried out, the full report can be accessed on the Waka 
Kotahi website at: www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/sh1b-telephone-road-rail-crossing.   
 
If you would like to discuss this reply with Waka Kotahi, please contact us by email to 
[NZTA request email] 
 
Yours sincerely 
 
 
David Speirs 
Director Regional Relationships (Waikato / Bay of Plenty) 
 
 
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