Nats commit to four-laning south of Whangārei, plus Warkworth-Wellsford motorway extension

National has committed to four-laning State Highway 1 from Whangārei to Port Marsden Highway, a project dropped by the Labour Government in June after a cost blowout. Photo / Michael Cunningham

The National Party has committed to reviving the cancelled project to build a four-lane highway from Whangārei to Port Marsden Highway if re-elected in 2023.

The party says it will also continue the Northern Motorway from Warkworth to Wellsford, despite the eye-watering costs of both projects.

National's shadow treasurer Andrew Bayly made the commitments during a two-day visit to Northland focusing on Bay of Islands businesses.

In 2020 the then Coalition Government announced it would replace a lethal 22km stretch of State Highway 1 south of Whangārei with a four-lane expressway at a cost of $692 million. The money was to have come from the $6.8 billion New Zealand Upgrade Programme.

However, the Labour Government canned the project in June this year after the cost blew out to an estimated $1.3b.

The $692m would instead be used for a rail link to Northport and ''targeted improvements'' to SH1.

Bayly, however, said ditching the four-laning was ''outrageous''.

''That piece of road is incredibly dangerous ... it just seems absurd.''

Northland residents, and contractors, also needed certainty around the next phase of the Northern Motorway extension from Warkworth to Wellsford.

There were no clear answers at present about when, or if, it would be built.

''It's essential that there's a pipeline that people in construction can plan for, so they know it's going to happen. If we come back in we'll be doing that as a matter of priority.''

National Party shadow treasurer Andrew Bayly. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Ideally, the party would start construction in its first term but that would depend on what had been done in the way of land purchases and designations.

''So we can't commit to an exact timeframe but we want to be clear so people, and construction firms in particular, know we're going to do it and the people of Northland know we understand how important these roads are.''

Bayly, who is also National's infrastructure spokesman, said many of the Ōpua and Kerikeri businesses he visited with former Northland MP Matt King raised concerns about workforce shortages, but their most persistent theme was the need to upgrade Northland's connection to its biggest market, Auckland.

''Northlanders have told us this transport lifeline is the key driver of economic growth in the region,'' he said.

The ultimate aim would be to have a four-lane highway all the way from Auckland to Whangārei, he said.

National Party shadow treasurer Andrew Bayly (centre) with former Northland MP Matt King and Far North Deputy Mayor Ann Court during his visit to Northland. Photo / Supplied

Bayly said he knew personally about the state of Northland roads from trips to see his brother in Waitangi.

The Puhoi-Warkworth section of the Northern Motorway is nearing completion but the Warkworth-Wellsford extension has yet to progress beyond the planning stage.

When first announced by former Transport Minister Steven Joyce in 2009, the 27km stretch of motorway was expected to cost $494m.

That was revised to $1b in 2012 and then to $1.4-1.9b in 2017, though the final cost will depend on which route is chosen.