Government's Road Announcement Week
by Matt Lowrie
Transport Minister Chris Bishop was on a project announcement spree last week. As well as the Northwest Busway which I covered on Thursday, he also announced updates on three Roads of National (party) Significance in the Upper North Island.
A couple of things that stands out from these:
From ones that have costs listed, is that construction cost inflation is massive and at $5.5 billion, the City Rail Link is starting to look like even better value.
Changes to the economic assessment of projects, such as last year lowering the discount rate to 2% (and less) and using longer assessment periods out to 60 years, means the BCRs look a lot better than they would have just a few years ago. By comparison, the CRL was assessed with a 6% discount rate for 40 years.
Mill Rd
The Minister ended his week with Mill Rd. The project has a long history, starting out life back in 2009 by the former Manukau City Council and was carried on by Auckland Transport project, who confirmed a designation in 2016 for the section between Manukau and Alfriston. In early 2020 the project shifted to Waka Kotahi after Labour included it in its NZ Upgrade programme but notably it was for the entire corridor all the way from Manukau to Drury. A year and a half later the project was scaled back again after costs blew out from $1.354 billion to $3.5 billion and the focus shifted back to that original section and targeted safety improvements on the rest of the corridor.
The project has a lot of support from land bankers and developers in the area and National included the full project in its new Roads of National Significance programme but the focus has been on that original section as the work done already means it can be started sooner.
Transport Minister Chris Bishop has welcomed the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board’s endorsement of the investment case for Stage One of Mill Road, a crucial Road of National Significance.
The Board has endorsed the investment case and approved $91.1 million for completing the design work and securing consents on Stage One.
“South Auckland is the fastest growing area in the Auckland region, with 120,000 more people expected to make it their home over the next 30 years. We need to get on and deliver crucial transport infrastructure that supports that kind of growth, reduces congestion, improves safety, and helps unlock housing,” Mr Bishop says.
“Mill Road is one of 17 Roads of National Significance (RoNS) this Government is progressing, and the NZTA Board’s endorsement of the investment case and approval of design and consent funding for Stage 1 is a direct result of our focus to streamline the business case process and get projects into delivery faster.
The investment case for Mill Road Stage 1 (Manukau to Alfriston) includes:
Four lane (general traffic) corridor including a westbound bus lane at the northern end.
Two new and six upgraded intersections between SH1 interchange and Murphys Road.
Three new roundabouts.
New bridges across Puhinui Creek and Cheesman’s Bush.
Current Mill Road south of Redoubt Road becomes a shared path and property access road.
“Delivering Mill Road Stage 1 has substantial benefits, including a 30 percent reduction in congestion on the corridor, over 60 percent reduction in deaths and serious injuries, and by 2031, 25 percent faster journey times.
“The endorsement of the investment case and approval of design and consent funding for Stage 1 provides certainty on the next steps as the project moves to complete the design and technical work necessary for construction to begin as early as mid-2026.
It's interesting to see that the project will still have at-grade intersections as this doesn't conform to the Government Policy Statement that states "All Roads of National Significance will be four-laned, grade-separated highways".
What's concerning is that this stage alone is now expected to cost $1.75-2.05 billion. I hate to think what the remaining sections will cost.
“The plan is to focus on Stage 1b from Hollyford Drive to Hilltop Road, along with a piece of work to the south (Stage 1d), which includes roundabout improvements around the Mill Road Alfriston area. Stage 1a between State Highway 1 (SH1) and Hollyford Drive and Stage 1c from Hilltop Road to north of Alfriston will be delivered later.
NZTA suggest Stage 1 will take till around 2033 to compete mid-next year the planning/design focus will shift to the other parts of the corridor.
There is also the potential that at least parts of the corridor will be tolled, with the announcement stating
“The Government Policy Statement on Land Transport 2024 (GPS) also requires NZTA to consider tolling for all new RoNS. The investment case confirms tolling is possible and the revenue will support the construction and maintenance of the road. If tolled, Mill Road Stage 1 has a Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) of 2.2, and un-tolled the BCR is 3.1. The Government will consider this recommendation and announce next steps of the process in due course.
Northern Expressway
A day earlier, the same day as the Northwest Busway announcement, he also made an announcement in Northland about their plans for an expressway from Auckland to Whangarei.
The $4 billion section between Warkworth and Te Hana is already consented and the NZTA has started procurement for it. The big announcement was the 'emerging preferred corridor' north of Te Hana.
“Today NZTA is announcing the emerging preferred corridor from Te Hana to Whangārei, which will deliver a new four-lane, mainly grade-separated route that bypasses key pressure points on the current State Highway 1 (SH1).
“For Section 2, Te Hana to Port Marsden Highway, the emerging preferred corridor is a new route to the east of SH1 between Te Hana and the Brynderwyn Hills, near to the east of SH1 at the Brynderwyn Hills and to the west of SH1 between the Brynderwyn Hills and Port Marsden Highway.
“The Brynderwyn Hills is a very challenging section due to the steepness of terrain and quality of the geology. Alternative options in this location looked at western routes but following further investigation, NZTA has reassessed and found a near east alignment close to SH1. This is a more direct route with more predictable geology that can be managed through engineering design.
“For Section 3, Port Marsden Highway to Whangārei, the emerging preferred corridor is a new road near SH1 between Port Marsden Highway and State Highway 15 Loop Road and a widened SH1 corridor approaching urban Whangārei,” Mr Bishop says.
Previous options had a bypass of the Brynderwyn's west the existing road (below) so now going to the east is a notable change. However, the problem remains just how a road of this scale can be justified. Warkworth to Te Hana is around 26km and is now costing around $4 billion. Whangarei to Port Marsden is around 15km and was last estimated to cost about $1.6 billion. Between Te Hana and Port Marsden is around 42km with some obviously pretty tricky terrain so is going to be very expensive, yet it only carries just over 10,000 vehicles a day.
My guess is spending even a fraction of what this expressway will cost on further resilience upgrades for SH1 as well as a range of safety improvements, curve easements and passing lanes all over Northland would deliver far more benefits for Northland (and the country) than what this project ever will.
The Port Marsden to Whangarei preferred corridor has been known for a long time.
Tauriko West
Finally, in the first announcement of his week was yet another highway for Tauranga, the $2.8-3 Tauriko West highway ugpgrades.
The NZTA Board has endorsed the investment case for the new Tauriko West Road of National Significance, consisting of:
A 4-lane offline SH29 from Redwood Interchange to Takitimu North Link Interchange, designed to accommodate speeds of 110km/h
Widening existing SH29A from Takitimu Drive Toll Road to Barkes Corner
7 intersection upgrades, including 3 new interchanges and 2 overbridges
Current SH29 to become a local road
Board support for consideration of tolling subject to Ministerial confirmation.
The NZTA Board has also approved $97.2 million in funding for route protection.
“As part of the SH29 Tauriko West RONS, a new SH29 will be built and SH29A widened to support economic growth, productivity, commercial and residential development, protect the strategic freight route, and improve resilience and reliability, and safety for all users,” Mr Bishop says.
“These upgrades will support the Tauriko Business Estate extension and enable the potential development of 30,000 new houses in the Western Corridor by 2063. Other benefits of the project include a 40 per cent improvement in travel time reliability, 13 min reduction on SH29 and 6 min reduction on SH29A, and a projected 50 per cent reduction in deaths and serious injuries.”
.....
The Tauriko West project will be delivered in four phases:
Phase 1: Ōmanawa Bridge replacement (SH29) – The replacement of the Ōmanawa Bridge, realignment of the connections on SH29 around the bridge and minor improvements to the Ōmanawa Road Intersection. Construction is expected to start later this year.
Phase 2: Route protection for SH29 and SH29A – Designating, consenting and progressing property acquisition so NZTA is ready to proceed with the detailed design and construction when funding is made available. This also protects the route from being built out in the upcoming development of the area.
Phase 3: SH29 offline – Constructing a new 4-lane SH29 from north of Ōmanawa Bridge to connect to Takitimu North Link Interchange including Takitimu Drive Toll Road, and revocation of the existing SH29 (indicative design and construction timeframe, subject to funding).
Phase 4: Widening existing SH29A – From Takitimu Drive Toll Road to Barkes Corner and a new interchange at Barkes Corner.
Tauranga is quickly becoming more highway than city.
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So much of this is PR Politics, the fact that you headed up the article with the word "announcement" says it all. No explanation on who will pay for it, who will build it and when they think it will happen. All these announcements are doing is making it look like they are delivering something when all they are really doing is saying we are spending a tiny amount to do some paperwork.