I heartily agree with the proposal for State Highway 35/Wainui Road to have a heavy vehicle bypass turn-off at Sponge Bay, go through the rifle range to Kaiti Beach Road, a bridge over Turanganui River and along the railway line to Stanley Road.

Perfect so far, but then it goes terribly wrong as it proposes to veer south to Awapuni Road. This means traffic from the north needs to go down Bushmere Road to the Jolly Stockman and on to Awapuni Road, adding 8-10 kilometres and a quarter of an hour on to each trip.

Truck drivers, being very sensible, will naturally take the shorter trip down the Back Ormond Road to save time, diesel and tyres while the multimillion-dollar road is wasted.

The answer, as usual, is simple. At Stanley Road, continue along the Makaraka railway line, past the Showgrounds, across Main Road through the old Makaraka Railway Station and north of the township to join State Highway 2 at the intersection of Bell Road.

Coming from the south, instead of veering to the Jolly Stockman, SH2 will go straight ahead down Bell Road to Makaraka Road.

When finally completed, heavy traffic from north and south — on turning off the roundabout at the intersection of Makaraka Road/SH2 and Bell Road — will have a clear run to the port with no intersections, as there will be overhead bridges at Main Road, Chalmers Road, Lytton Road, Grey Street and an underpass at Customhouse Street.

Once the NZTA has settled my consulting fees I will advise them where to put their on-and off-ramps so all heavy traffic can gain access to the city.

Graham Gibson