Consultation has opened on proposed tolls for a planned motorway north of Auckland. Photo / NZPA, David Rowland
A proposal to toll a planned new motorway north of Auckland is raising eyebrows online, as formal consultation gets underway.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) announced a tolling proposal for the Northland Corridor’s first section from Warkworth and Te Hana that could see most motorists paying between $1.50 and $4.50 per journey.
Ara Tūhono–Warkworth to Te Hana is a Road of National Significance that’ll connect to the Pūhoi to Warkworth motorway and is part of the Northland Corridor, a 100km strategic route between Warkworth and Whangārei.
The 26km route, with an indicative design that includes an 850m-long twin-bore tunnel in the Dome Valley and three interchanges at Warkworth, Wellsford and Te Hana, is in procurement and a detailed design and construction of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) project was expected to begin by the end of the year, NZTA said.
Submissions on the toll proposal opened yesterday and could be made online at https://nzta.govt.nz/w2thtolling/ until April 15, the transport agency wrote on its Facebook page.
“No!!!!”, commented one person below the post, reflecting the feelings of some to potential future road-user fees.
Several people used the Facebook post to ask why tolls were proposed on the planned motorway, when neither the Waikato Expressway nor Wellington’s Transmission Gully were tolled.
“So why then will Northlanders have to pay a toll to travel to see the rest of the country [when] we only have one way south?” one wrote.
Another questioned whether the tolls eventually “end, or just keep increasing”.
“The Johnston[e] Hill tolls was put in how long ago now, it should of [sic] well paid for it and been removed by now.”
Another congratulated posters for their “excellent points”, but reminded them to use the formal consultation process, as comments on the Facebook post don’t count towards decision-making.
“Don’t forget to put your feedback in via the appropriate method.”
However, others were in support of the toll, particularly on NZTA’s Northland Facebook page.
One backing user pays had recently returned from travelling across Europe by car for three months.
“Tolls everywhere, this is normal and common sense if you want proper roading”, the man wrote.
“There is always a free alternate route so take the old road if tolls concerned you but thousand are happy to pay tolls and enjoy the benefits.”
“Toll it”, wrote another.
“If it makes it quicker am willing to pay - less petrol to use the route means it will save in the long run.”
One woman said she’d pay to avoid Wellsford and Dome Valley,
The existing State Highway 1 route through Dome Valley the new motorway would replace was the scene of mass damage to vehicles three years ago, after newly laid seal peeled off and stuck like tar to more than 100 cars, and for which Fulton Hogan and NZTA later apologised.
Others included a caveat for their support.
“Happy with tolls as long as you put them on the Wellington roads as well so civil servants can also pay their share!!!”, wrote one.
The proposed tolling scheme would have fixed toll rates with two toll points – one north and the other south of the future Wayby interchange, NZTA wrote on its online Warkworth to Te Hana tolling consultation page.
Those in light vehicles would pay $1.50 if using the northern toll point only, $3 if using the southern toll point only and $4.50 if using both toll points.
Heavy vehicles would pay between $3 and $9, depending on how many toll points they were using.
Two toll points were mooted after analysis showed a single toll point would lead to significant traffic diverting on to local roads, NZTA wrote.
“It also created an issue of fairness – residents would either avoid paying a toll altogether or pay the same toll as those using the entire length of the new road.”
Tolls allowed users to contribute toward the cost of building, operating and maintaining a road, and meant existing funding could be redirected to new projects, getting them started sooner, NZTA wrote.
“Any tolling revenue will contribute to the annual amount we need to pay the PPP following the opening of the motorway. [And] it’ll free up money in the National Land Transport Fund to invest in other important transport infrastructure projects.
Since 2024, the Government had asked NZTA to assess all new state highway projects to see whether they were suitable for tolling, the agency wrote.
As well as being a critical link for providing economic and social development opportunities in Northland, the planned motorway would save motorists up to seven to 10 minutes on their journeys, reduce crash numbers and severity and be more weather-resilient, compared with the existing SH1 route.
“These improvements will address the known safety and resilience challenges in the Dome Valley, a critical freight and passenger route.”