Proposals to introduce tolls on two new lower North Island state highways are open for public feedback.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) is consulting on the proposed schemes for Te Ahu a Turanga: Manawatū Tararua Highway and the Ōtaki to north of Levin (Ō2NL) highway.
“Both Te Ahu a Turanga and Ō2NL will be vital transport links in their areas and will provide everyone travelling them with much safer, resilient and efficient routes connecting Wellington and the Kāpiti Coast and the wider Manawatū-Whanganui region with other parts of the island, including Hawke’s Bay and Napier Port,” Linda Stewart, NZTA’s director of regional relationships for Manawatū-Whanganui, Taranaki, Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne, said.
“Motorists, in both light and heavy vehicles, will also experience reduced travel times on the highways.”
Te Ahu a Turanga: Manawatū Tararua Highway between Woodville and Ashhurst has a proposed rate of $4.30 for light vehicles and $8.60 for heavy vehicles (over 3500kg gross vehicle mass). The rate would be the same 24 hours a day. Construction of the 11.5km four-lane divided highway, which will replace the old Manawatū Gorge Rd, began in early 2021 and is due to be completed in mid-2025.