National pledge likely on Auckland motorways

National is expected to announce it will complete Auckland's motorway network within eight years when it unveils its plans for the city's congested roading system today.

However, the party will sidestep the controversial eastern motorway on the grounds it is not a state highway and got the thumbs down at last year's local body elections. John Banks blamed the motorway for his Auckland City mayoral defeat and it nearly claimed the scalp of Manukau Mayor Sir Barry Curtis.

It is thought National will favour components of the eastern motorway, particularly at the Manukau end, but has no plans to build a road from Glen Innes to the city across the environmentally sensitive Orakei Basin and Hobson Bay.

Apart from moving $600 million of the petrol tax from the consolidated fund into roading, National does not plan to spend more than Labour on roading but will emphasise a streamlined Resource Management Act and private sector investment paid for by tolls to speed up planning and construction.

National is determined to complete the missing links to an alternative western ring route around the city from Manukau to Albany and extend the current work on Spaghetti Junction with new flyovers at Newmarket and Victoria Park.

The eight-year timetable is in line with the pro-roads Auckland Business Forum and Chamber of Commerce, which have been lobbying National and Labour to complete the motorway network.