Waimakariri MP Matt Doocey has slammed the Labour Government's u-turn on the Woodend Bypass after it announced the project as part of its transport announcement this week.

Doocey said the timing of the announcement was 'cynical at best'.

“Labour were the ones who cancelled this vital roading project, leaving the Woodend community split in two by increasingly dangerous traffic levels year on year," he said.

“Now they want that same community to believe they have their interests at heart?”

Doocey said just last year Labour announced safety improvements for the road through Woodend, with no mention of the long-awaited bypass.

Since Labour cancelled the project when they came to power in 2017, Doocey has been campaigning to get it back on the table, with hundreds of people attending a rally in the North Canterbury town in 2020.

"Labour cancelled this roading project six years ago forcing residents to hold public meetings, a petition to parliament and a protest rally but Labour blocked it at every turn. 

"For Labour to expect people to forget all that just beggars belief.”