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Road a ‘game-changer’ Expressway to cut 38 minutes off travel time
A
Denise Piper
new Northland Expressway will cut 38 minutes off the drive between Auckland’s Te Hana and Whangārei, according to a recently approved investment case. The new road will also reduce deaths and serious injuries on State Highway 1 by 66%. The NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA)
board has endorsed the investment case for the Te Hana to Whangārei expressway. The Government is funding $187 million to progress design, consent and route protection. Priority will be given to an alternative to the Brynderwyn Hills, due to the vulnerability of this route to weather and closures from slips. Designing, consenting and building the route is expected to cost between
$15.3 billion and $18.3b, with tolls likely to help construction and maintenance. Northland MP National’s Grant McCallum said the investment case endorsement was a significant step forward. “It endorses what the people of Northland have known for years: that this road is very much worth building from an economic standpoint, a safety standpoint and resilience improvements.” A cost-to-benefit analysis found the expressway would have a benefit of $1.40 for every dollar spent, McCallum said. “It shows it has a positive outcome for Northland, taking into account all of those factors — road safety, time of travel and
Ongoing closures of the Brynderwyn Hills in 2024 has meant this section of the expressway is being prioritised.
resilience,” he said. The next step is for NZTA to conduct geotechnical tests and start engaging with landowners whose properties are on the preferred route, he said. McCallum, whose family farm was on an earlier route proposed for the expressway, said he empathised with those impacted. He advised landowners to engage constructively with NZTA and to get good legal advice at the appropriate time. “I absolutely do [have sympathy]. It creates uncertainty and the most important thing that anybody wants is certainty.” continued on A3
Photo / NZME