- Transport Minister Simeon Brown’s plan to revive National’s Roads of National Significance faces the usual pre-construction delays.
- Only three of six promised projects may start soon, with others pushed back or facing hurdles.
- Brown’s National Land Transport Programme includes $7b for roads, a $5.5b pothole prevention fund and $4.6b for maintenance.
Transport Minister Simeon Brown talks a big game about resurrecting National’s Roads of National Significance (RoNS) but it’s not that simple.
A year and a bit after the election campaign when National pledged significant investment in new state highways, it will be the latter end of this political term before any sod-turning ceremonies and actual construction begins.
That’s because of the lengthy pre-construction process, which involves years of investigations, planning, consenting, and funding hurdles, even with fast-track measures introduced by the Government.
Of the six RoNS, National said it “expected commencement” in its first term, only the final link in the Waikato Expressway from Cambridge to Piarere, Mill Rd parallel to Auckland’s Southern Motorway and extending SH1 north of Christchurch, north of Pegasus, has a reasonable chance of getting spades in the ground.
Three other RoNS have been brought forward for an early start. They are extending SH1 north from Warkworth to Wellsford; the first stage of widening SH2 between Napier and Hastings to four lanes; and Ōtaki to north of Levin highway, the northernmost section of the Wellington northern corridor.
National’s promise for an early start on widening SH1 Whangarei to Marsden Point, the East-West Link crossing Auckland’s industrial belt, stage 2 of Takatimu Link North in the Bay of Plenty, and a second Mt Victoria tunnel have been pushed back.
Another RoNS plan this term is to replace the Ōmanawa bridge on SH29 outside Tauranga.
The Government’s National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) has $7 billion to be spent over 2024-2027 on state highways.
The NLTP is allocated by NZTA based on the direction set out by Brown in his Government Policy Statement (GPS) for land transport.
Brown said the GPS contains 17 RoNS and reboots the successful programme, which was started under the previous National Government and delivered some of the country’s safest and high-quality highways.
“Project teams have been appointed to the first seven projects to accelerate consenting, property acquisition, and design. Investigations and project planning for the remaining projects will also start in the next three years,” he said.
As well as the big $7b spend-up on new roads, Brown has created a $5.5b pothole prevention fund for state highways and local roads, and $4.6b for maintenance on highways and local roads.
A big challenge is whether the RoNS can be delivered on budget. Leaked figures published by the Herald suggest they could come in at more than twice as much as National said they would, leaving a potential fiscal hole of $24b.
The Herald asked Brown if he had received the latest costings for each roading project.
He did not respond.
While Brown grapples with funding issues and getting work started, progress is being made on a number of under way roading projects, as well as Auckland’s two mega-transport projects, the $5.5b City Rail Link and $1.3b Eastern Highway.
The CRL is the country’s biggest-ever transport project with its twin underground tunnels and new stations between Britomart in the CBD and Mt Eden. It’s due to open in 2026, which can’t come soon enough for inner-city businesses that have endured nearly a decade of mental and financial hardship.
The Eastern Busway has been under way since 2018 with the Panmure to Pakuranga section complete, and the Pakurana to Botany section tracking to open in 2027 to reduce eastern resident’s car dependency.
Sticking to Auckland, widening the Southern Motorway between Papakura and Drury is going to take another three years, and the 7km Penlink road connecting Whangaparāoa Peninsula with SH1 has been pushed out to late 2028 due to design issues with the Wēiti River Bridge.
The first stage of the Takatimu Northern Link out of Tauranga is due to open in 2027, and the long-awaited Manawatū-Tararua Highway, replacing the now impassable Manawatū Gorge, has a mid-2025 opening date. Locals are fuming about a proposed toll.
The first Roads of National Significance
Ara Tūhono - Warkworth to Wellsford
Cost - $2.2b(National pre-election), $2.9b-$3.75b(NZTA post-election)
Warkworth to Wellsford is the most advanced of the three remaining legs that form the Northland Expressway between Auckland and Whangarei.
The 26km route travels west of Warkworth and east of Wellsford to Te Hana with three interchanges at Warkworth, Wellsford, and Te Hana.
The project is consented with property purchases under way. Investigation works, including geotechnical drilling, began in September.
Construction is expected to begin in the next three years.
Mill Rd Stage 1
Cost - $1.45b (National pre-election), $1.45b-$1.95b NZTA post election)
Mill Rd is a 21km four-lane highway running parallel to the Southern Motorway between Manukau, Takanini, Papakura and Drury to meet the rapidly growing population in South Auckland and reduce pressure on SH1.
The first stage is at the northern end of Redoubt Rd as far as Alfriston - the only designated section, allowing the authorities to acquire properties and work to proceed.
NZTA is currently undertaking a big review of the project, including the design, timelines and estimated costs. An updated investment case is due to go to the NZTA board in early 2025.
The plan is to progress early construction within the next three years, including key intersections at the northern end but road construction will begin substantially only later.
The other three sections through Takanini, Papakura and Drury have been flagged, but face significant hurdles, not least the cost of buying more than 700 properties.
Cambridge to Piarere
Cost - $720m (National pre-election), $1.3b-$1.7b (NZTA post-election)
The 16km four-lane expressway is the final link in the Waikato Expressway south of Cambridge, connecting to the under-construction roundabout at the busy and high-risk T-intersection at Piarere where SH29 to Tauranga meets SH1. The roundabout is nearing completion.
The highway is likely to include a new interchange at Karapiro Rd and four bridges.
Construction could start in 2026 and take six to seven years to complete.
Hawke’s Bay Expressway Stage 1
Cost - $100m
This project involves adding an extra lane in each direction to four-lane SH2 between Napier and Hastings.
The first stage of the 27km highway is a 6.5km congested stretch between Taradale Rd in Napier and Pākowhai Rd, about halfway between Napier and Hastings.
NZTA wants to complete stage one in 2028, stage two by 2030, and stages three and four by 2034, which will be completed together.
Early works started in October 2024 and an investment case for Stage 1 is due to go to the NZTA board late 2024. Pending approval, construction is expected to begin in late 2025.
Ōtaki to north of Levin
Cost - $1.5b
The new Ōtaki to north of Levin highway is the northernmost section of the Wellington northern corridor, and includes a shared walking and cycling path, east of the current SH1.
The 24.8km project is nearly as long as the Mackays to Peka Peka, and Peka Peka to Ōtaki expressways combined and is due to start construction in 2025, and is expected to be completed in 2029.
In June 2024, NZTA appointed two design and construction teams to develop and ultimately build the new expressway. NZTA has begun consultation on tolling the highway.
SH1 Belfast to Pegasus Motorway and Woodend Bypass
Cost - $270m (National pre-election), $550m-$1b(NZTA post election)
The 9km extension on SH1 north of Christchurch has been deemed necessary due to a growing population, commercial development, and a key freight route north of the city.
Environmental assessments are under way to support planning requirements, and an investment case will be considered by the NZTA board in late 2024.
The project begins where the Northern Corridor motorways merge and goes through to Pegasus, bypassing Woodend with a toll among the funding options.
There is a “likely start” over the next three years.
Progress reports on major highway and public transport projects under way
The Papakura to Drury Southern Motorway project provides a new 4.5km traffic lane in each direction.
It will provide interchange improvements at Papakura and Drury to allow rail electrification to Pukekohe, and extend the Southern walking and cycle pathway.
Started under Labour in 2021, the project is due to finish in December 2027 at an estimated cost of $655m.
The $5.5b City Rail Link, a 3.4km twin underground rail connection between Britomart and Mt Eden with new stations in the city and Karangahape Rd, is due for completion in November 2025. It will then be handed over to Auckland Transport for tests and to upskill train drivers before passenger services begin in 2026 - 10 years after construction began in June 2016.
Auckland’s Eastern Busway is being built in stages costing $1.3b to mirror the city’s hugely successful Northern Busway. The first stage from Panmure to Pakūranga opened in late 2021 and work is under way on the second stage to Botany, largely following Ti Raku Drive with a flyover at Reeves Rd in Pakūranga for vehicles. It is expected to be completed in late 2027 to carry about 30,000 bus passengers to and from Panmure railway station.
O Mahurangi - Penlink, a 7km two-lane highway connecting Whangaparāoa Peninsula with SH1, was due to be finished in late 2026 but this date has been pushed out to late 2028.
According to NZTA, this is due to the design and construction of the Wēiti River Bridge and assumptions made regarding ground conditions due to limited access to the site at the tender stage during Covid 19.
The $830m cost is being reviewed in light of the issues.
The under-construction Takitimu Northern Link Stage 1 is the Bay of Plenty’s most expensive transport project at $655m. It is a 6.8-kilometre, four-lane expressway from Tauranga to Te Puna that would eventually extend to Ōmokoroa in Stage 2.
It is planned to ease traffic on SH2 north of Tauranga, where motorists have complained of “horrific” congestion, and is due to open in 2027.
The National Land Transport Programme has committed $26m for planning Stage 2 - 7km from Te Puna to Ōmokoroa - over the next three years.
NZTA is proposing a toll to cover maintenance costs and fund the construction of stage 2. Tauranga already has two tolled roads - Takitimu Drive and the Tauranga Eastern Link.
The Te Ahu a Turanga - Manawatū-Tararua Highway is being built after a massive rock fall in 2017 left SH3 through the Manawatū Gorge impassable. The new 11.5km four-lane highway, including two bridges spanning more than 300m, runs between Ashhurst and Woodville and is expected to be completed in mid-2025 for about $824m. A proposed toll has met strong opposition from Tararua residents.
Bernard Orsman is an award-winning reporter who has been covering Auckland’s local politics and transport since 1998. Before that, he worked in the parliamentary press gallery for six years.
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