Aucklanders will get an early taste of a $120 million waterfront development on Wednesday when a new bridge linking the Viaduct Harbour to Wynyard Quarter opens.

Fuel tax is likely to rise by about 3.5c per litre over the next two years to help fund hundreds of millions in additional government spending on "roads of national significance" such as the Puhoi to Welsford highway.

Holidaymakers can expect a faster run to the Coromandel Peninsula before the end of summer.

The last of 366 30-tonne concrete beams has been put in place over the $340 million tunnel.

Transport Agency consultants believe tolls of $6 to $8 could pay for a new Auckland harbour crossing. The tolls would be charged on the new crossing and the existing harbour bridge.

Need a new guided missile cruiser? Maybe a tank, or a jet fighter, or just a plain old army truck? Look no further than across the Tasman.