New expressway and route over Brynderwyns welcomed by Northland leaders

Northland Regional Transport Committee chairman Joe Carr, Whangārei list MP Dr Shane Reti, Transport Minister Chris Bishop and Northland MP Grant McCallum talk about the preferred route for the Northland Expressway. Photo / Dean Purcell

Northland leaders are rapt with continued progress on the Northland Expressway, including the latest Government announcement of a preferred route over the Brynderwyn Hills.

Transport Minister Chris Bishop yesterday revealed the earmarked Northland Expressway route will go from Warkworth east of SH1 and over the Brynderwyn Hills, then through to Whangārei.

Bishop also said the new road, tipped to be one of the country’s most expensive infrastructure projects, would “almost certainly” be tolled.

Tolling was “a more direct way of paying for roads”, Bishop said.

“Almost certainly the first section will be tolled ... and the second will be tolled as well.”

Far North Mayor Moko Tepania said the announcement of a preferred route, which comes three days after a slip damaged cars and blocked part of SH1 over Easter, was “fantastic news for the Far North and all of Northland”.

“It will unlock billions of dollars of economic growth for our people.

“If that’s what Cabinet has gone with [the preferred option], that’s great news; it means we can press on faster.”

Regional Development Minister Shane Jones said the highway had been “a long time coming”.

“Now we’ve got to ensure construction takes place within a reasonable timeframe.

“The team are doing as much geological work as possible.

“It’s really important we do an exhaustive level of investigative work up front to understand the geology and risks to timely delivery.”

The Government’s announcement of a preferred route over the Brynderwyns comes three days after a slip damaged cars and blocked part of SH1.

Last July, the Government said it was accelerating a four-lane highway between Auckland and Whangārei.

That included the stretch of SH1 over the slip-prone Brynderwyns, which was closed for four months last year due to numerous slips during bouts of bad weather.

The first stage of the project – a 26km stretch from Warkworth to Te Hana - will include an 850m tunnel bored through the Dome Valley, and three interchanges, located at Warkworth, Wellsford and Te Hana. It is expected to be finished by 2034.

Phase two includes Te Hana to Port Marsden – including the alternative to the Brynderwyn Hills - and phase three is Port Marsden to Whangārei. There is no timeline for these sections.

Bishop said NZTA had investigated two bypass routes to the west of the Brynderwyns, but had found “a near east alignment close to SH1”.

The new route hasn’t been totally finalised, however.

“The emerging preferred corridor is a larger area than will be required for the final route,” NZTA Northland corridor programme director Derek Robertson said.

“Within the emerging preferred corridor, there are still several different places the road may go.”

Northland Regional Transport Committee (RTC) chairman Joe Carr, who has lobbied for the eastern alignment, said he was “thrilled” by the announcement, “as a crucial move to address long-standing issues with the current Brynderwyn Hills route”.

The eastern route would minimise traffic disruption during its construction, Carr said.

“We want value for money and a constructable route.

“We walked the proposed western route, and with the ground instability there, we knew it was a non-starter.

“That’s why we focused back on this eastern route.”

Northland MP Grant McCallum said the announcement “creates more certainty for Northlanders and also landowners”.

“It’s great we’ve got to the point where we’re getting closer to the final route.

“It’s great progress for Northland.”

Robertson said NZTA was “working at pace” to deliver a safer, more resilient road for Northland.

However, he acknowledged it was “an uncertain time” for landowners in the emerging preferred corridor area.

“Now that we have identified the emerging preferred corridor, we will start contacting potentially impacted landowners who are within the area to let them know the next steps.

“Due to the size of the project, this will take time, but we are working hard to contact landowners as quickly as we can.”

NZTA is letting affected landowners know they are “in the study area” for the preferred route from May to August, before approval from the NZTA board from August to September.

There will be meetings with impacted landowners from September to early 2026 to discuss the next steps.

The roading project, one of the Roads of National Significance, will be delivered as a public-private partnership (PPP).

Jenny Ling is a senior journalist at the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering human interest stories, along with finance, roading, and animal welfare issues.