Proposed speed limit increases of 110km/h on State Highway 1 from Orewa to Warkworth will mean faster journey times for Kiwis travelling between Auckland and Northland.
Video / NZH
Transport Minister Simeon Brown told a press conference in Warkworth today the increased limit would help “unlock economic growth and productivity by moving people and freight quickly and safely between regions”.
“We know how critical these connections are for motorists and freight operators, and we’re committed to ensuring that state highways enable people to get to where they want to go, quickly and safely,” he said in speech notes.
The Government has unveiled a proposal to allow motorists to drive up to 110km/h north of Auckland.
The faster speed limits would stretch along the Northern Gateway Toll Road opened in 2009, and the Pūhoi to Warkworth motorway opened in 2023, north of Auckland.
The only exception would be the tunnel at Johnstons Hill where the speed limit would remain at 80km/h.
Brown said the two sections of SH1 had been built to high safety standards and no one had died in a crash along them since they opened.
Members of the public will be able to give feedback on the proposed new speed limits during a four-week consultation period from September 3 to October 1.
The National Party campaigned for the 2023 election on the promise it would raise speed limits on what it calls roads of national significance.
“Delivering 110km/h speed limits on roads of national significance where it’s safe to do so is another part of our Government’s Accelerate NZ plan to grow the economy, reduce travel times and increase productivity on our transport network,” Brown said today.
Transport Minister Simeon Brown (second left) held a press conference near Warkworth today to announce the proposal. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
National had also railed against what it called the previous Labour Government’s blanket speed limit reductions and promised to crack down on excessive use of road cones and temporary traffic management.
The Pūhoi to Warkworth section of motorway opened in June 2023 at an estimated cost of $877.5 million after suffering a series of delays blamed on restrictions during the Covid pandemic.
Built as a public private partnership, it was financed, designed and constructed by the Northern Express Group. The group is contracted to maintain the road for the next 24 years.
In a June press release one year after its opening, the NZ Transport Agency said the “motorway has changed the way people move around the north Auckland network”.
The agency said close to 20,000 vehicles travelled to and from Auckland and the country’s north every day with motorists saving up to 20 minutes on a return journey through the new Pūhoi to Warkworth section.
Meanwhile, Labour transport spokesman Tangi Utikere told the Herald that when a road is built to a high safety standard “speed limits can be increased safely”.
That included sections of the Waikato Expressway where limits were increased in 2022.
But he said: “I am concerned however about National’s cuts to road safety jobs at NZTA which means fewer people focused on reducing deaths on our roads, and National’s plans to increase speed limits even where it’s not safe. We have to ensure any changes are backed by evidence on safety.”
