Is there a "breakthrough" on the Transmission Gully route, or just in Annette King’s political communication strategy? After months of being missing in action with her Police portfolio in flames, she’s broken through to the front page with a good news story, without even needing any news.

I’ve been keenly interested in the Gully project for years. I’ve read the reports and analysis released by Transit over those years. I can’t see what has been ‘broken through’ in today’s DomPost front page story.

Annette King and Darren Hughes seem to have persuaded the paper that some design changes are worth trumpeting, but until there is enough money to do  the upgrades elsewhere in the region with much higher paybacks (and urgency in terms of traffic delays) it is unlikely that the local Mayors will reach a consensus on spending everything on the Gully.

I’m intrigued nevertheless. I’ve walked the length of the proposed route. When the estimated costs jumped from under half a billion to $1bn it was not easy to see exactly what had changed, other than the evironmental gold-plating.

I wonder whether that is what is altered in the secret re-alignments.