The legal battle began a year after cars were first allowed onto the billion-dollar highway. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
- The $1.25 billion Transmission Gully motorway opened in March 2022
- More than a year later the builders of the road launched legal proceedings against NZTA Waka Kotahi
- The dispute was settled late last year
NZTA Waka Kotahi estimates it spent more than $600,000 on external lawyers for a legal battle with the builders of Transmission Gully, which was later settled out of court.
Transmission Gully - a $1.25 billion motorway north of Wellington - opened to the public in March 2022 after years of delays.
The road was built under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) contract between the Wellington Gateway Partnership and builders CPB Contractors Pty Ltd and HEB Construction Ltd.
In November 2023, more than a year after cars were allowed to drive on it the builders of the motorway filed legal proceedings in the High Court against NZTA Waka Kotahi.
The dispute related to unfinished construction and quality checks.
At the time the agency said the legal proceedings were filed in response to their expectations works were completed to the "project's contracted standards".
In December the agency announced it had settled the dispute out of court.
RNZ can reveal while the work on the dispute was underway, NZTA Waka Kotahi spent an estimated $630,000 on external legal costs relating to it.
This included work by the Bell Gully law firm, and lawyers Hugh Kettle and Mike Colson KC.
The legal costs related to NZTA Waka Kotahi's initial pleadings, initial case management, attendance for discovery, responses to requests by media for access to the Court file and attendances which related to settlement.
The settlement resulted in a restructure of the project's PPP which gave NZTA Waka Kotahi responsibility for work that needed to be completed and involved it taking a more significant role in ongoing operations and maintenance.
It also allowed CPB Contractors Pty Ltd and HEB Construction Ltd to exit the project.
NZTA commercial delivery national manager Andrew Robertson said at the time it removed uncertainty that a lengthy legal battle would bring.
"Quite simply, it allows us to move forward with certainty."
The settlement did not affect road users and did not increase the cost of Transmission Gully to taxpayers.
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