Four-lane expressway promises $1.2b boost to GDP - Vince Cocurullo

A four-lane expressway from Auckland to Northland is just one of many investments we need for Northland.

Vince Cocurullo is the Mayor of Whangārei.

OPINION

In Northland, we understand that investing in our roads isn’t cheap, and we’re glad the Government is finally addressing years of under-investment.

For us, it’s about unlocking the potential in our region, boosting economic growth, reducing congestion, improving safety, supporting housing development, making our infrastructure more resilient and enabling people and freight to get to where they want to go quickly and safely.

We also know that a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Northland is just one of many investments we need for Northland.

As many people will have heard on the news already, the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) will be designing and building three projects spanning 100km from Warkworth to Whangārei.

These roads form the ‘Northland Expressway’ and are part of the Government’s Roads of National Significance programme. As for how they will be paid for, this could be by tolling, external funding or central government funding, or even a mixture of all, just so the project can be built now.

The three major projects in the Northland Expressway are at different stages:

Warkworth to Te Hana: This is the most advanced section, already designated and with regional consents for a four-lane road, including a twin bore tunnel and viaduct.

Te Hana to Port Marsden (Brynderwyns alternative): This is the longest and least advanced section, with several possible bypass alignments. More design work is needed for consents and designations.

Port Marsden to Whangārei: An indicative design for a four-lane road is identified, the preferred option hasn’t been consulted on yet, and consents and designations are still needed.

Recently, NZTA finished some recovery work on the Brynderwyn Hills to keep the route good for the next 7-10 years while planning and construction takes place. This does not mean that we will wait 10 years to have the project completed. Northland can’t afford to be cut off from Auckland to the extent that we have been over the past year, and it’s essential that the Brynderwyn Hills alternative gets priority attention. NZTA are moving at pace considering everything from ground conditions to costs and how it all is connected, even looking into changing legislation.

The first indication of timelines for these projects was released on April 12 as part of the State Highway Investment Proposal, which was followed by the accelerated delivery strategy announced by the Minister of Transport.

In the recent funding announcements, Northland State Highways received $991 million for the 2024-27 period, 32% more than 2021-24. This included $258m for additional maintenance operations, such as vegetation and litter control, line markings, road signs, barriers, and consultancy costs, plus $458m for pothole repairs, which we can all agree is sorely needed across Northland roads.

It’s not surprising that those who are against building roads will always say the cost is too high. While we don’t yet know the full cost of creating a four-lane expressway, the NZIER report (https://northpower.nz/about-us/northland-expressway) showed that the benefit of construction will boost New Zealand’s GDP by $1.2 billion.

We need to get the basics right, making sure that funds are being used to open development opportunities, housing and economic growth for our region and that we’re never cut off from the rest of New Zealand again due to under-investment and substandard roading connections.