Transport Minister Simeon Brown has announced the government will begin work on a new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme.
Brown said the project will include an “accelerated delivery model” to deliver the road faster and more efficiently.
“For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections between Northland and the rest of the country has been a handbrake on the region’s economic development. The last Government’s decision to stop planning for a replacement to the Brynderwyns has left Northland more vulnerable and requires a significant amount of work to get this project back on track,” Brown said.
The Government has agreed in principle to an accelerated delivery strategy that will enable NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi to move at pace and deliver the Northland Roads of National Significance as a single expressway between Auckland and Whangārei.
“As part of the National-NZ First coalition agreement, our Government is committed to delivering new Roads of National Significance for Northland. Delivering a programme as large and complex as this at pace requires a significant shift in delivery approach,” Brown said.
“An accelerated delivery strategy developed by NZTA includes a progressive public private partnership model that will achieve efficiencies and innovation in planning, procurement, design and construction across the entire roading corridor between Auckland and Whangārei,” he said.
It will do this by treating the three Roads of National Significance as three stages of the same project, and incentivising the development partner to deliver excellence in design, construction, financing, maintenance, and operation for each phase of the expressway.
“Taking a corridor approach means NZTA will avoid multiple procurement processes. It will also deliver integrated design, construction, maintenance and operations across the entire Northland Expressway, and allow greater efficiencies through scale to deliver the project up to 10 years faster than traditional approaches,” Brown said.
The Government will also be considering legislation changes that could accelerate delivery and provide increased certainty for delivery partners. Options being considered include changes to the Public Works Act to speed up delivery.
“The Northland Expressway is one of the largest infrastructure projects in New Zealand’s history. We are considering a wide range of funding, financing, and delivery tools to get this project completed as soon as possible.”
Last year, a report by NZIER commissioned by the Northland Corporate Group found that the Warkworth to Wellsford section of the expressway alone would increase New Zealand’s annual GDP by $497 million.
“Once completed, the Northland Expressway will provide a modern, reliable, and efficient link between Northland and Auckland, unlocking economic growth and productivity by moving people and freight quickly and safely across the region,” Brown said.
National Road Carriers Association has welcomed the decision to accelerate the Northland Expressway as a three-phase public private partnership.
“This approach is 100% aligned with what we have been calling for from successive Governments,” said NRC CEO Justin Tighe-Umbers.
“As we saw last weekend the route into the Northland region is vulnerable and this announcement will be welcomed by our members and the wider Northland business community,” he said.
“Combining the projects into a single corridor will mean less time and money spent on procurement, design and supporting project management.”
