Highway contest gets them talking

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 11, Issue 504, 21 September 1993, Page 6 (Supplement)

Highway contest gets them talking

The jury is still out over whether the Ruapehu Scenic Route is quicker for travellers getting from Auckland to Wellington or vice versa, but Ruapehu mayor Garrick Workman and the council's marketing manager Bruce Rollinson can take credit for at least getting it considered more often. Wellington's Dominion recently devoted a full page to an article by Philip Kitchin discussing the options.

He and photographer Bill Kearns concluded that the Ruapehu Scenic Route along State Highway Four had a more 'English' scenic appeal, had less traffic but that the driving conditions were not as good as State Highway One. Kitchin liked the 'surreal' scenery on the Desert Road, but also liked the "outstanding sights" between National Park and Waiouru, through the Southern

Ruapehu district. "Overall I reckon the Desert Road/State Highway One route wins on the scenery score and Bill, who travelled with me photographing the sights en route, agrees," said Kitchin. "It also wins on the driver-friendly score, being less windy, less bumpy and less tiring. "However, we reckon that if we were travelling the route frequently and wanted less traffic and a

change of scenery, the Taumarunui route is well worthwhile." Mayor Workman said Transit New Zealand was not keen to see the issue of upgrading the alternative route stirred up because State Highway One was already developed and had lots spent on it as the main route. Taupo 's deputy mayor Rex Hawkins believes the alternative route suggestions are being made for commercial reasons. This

is probably true in that the Ruapehu District Council decided to promote the route as part of its tourism marketing, to increase traffic through its district. But the idea of promoting the route has been around for a long time and use by north-south travellers is nothing new. In a section headed "Drivers vote with their wheels", figures on the use of the different routes are given. Around 3000 vehicles use the Desert

Road each day while 1500 use State Highway 49 between Waiouru and Ohakune. The figures suggest that while SH1 is the route most use, there are many people already using the alternative route. According to Transit New Zealand the alternative route, taking in the Ruapehu Scenic Highway, is about 45 minutes longer than SH1. But mayor Garrick Workman disputes this

and is looking at tests to prove that his way is quicker.