A contract has been awarded to the Northern Express Group to finance, build, manage and maintain a new motorway between Pūhoi and Warkworth.
The contract was awarded by the New Zealand Transport Agency as a public private partnership (PPP) at a net present cost of $709.5 million. Construction on the 18.5km motorway will get under way before the end of the year, with the road planned to open to traffic by 2022.
The motorway – which will extend Auckland’s Northern Motorway on State Highway 1 from the Johnstone’s Hill tunnels to just north of Warkworth – will be New Zealand’s second state highway to be delivered through a public-private partnership (PPP), the first being the Transmission Gully motorway project in Wellington, which is expected to open in 2020.
Transport minister Simon Bridges welcomed this step towards completing a key section of government’s Pūhoi to Wellsford ‘Road of National Significance’.
He says that government will continue to consider PPPs for other large scale and complex transport infrastructure projects.
“Using private sector funding and innovation to build this new section of motorway means the construction will cost less than if it was paid for through conventional channels, and the motorway will also be delivered more quickly,” says Bridges.
He explains that improving this road is an important part of the government’s commitment to supporting and increasing economic growth in Northland and providing a safer and more reliable link between Northland and the rest of the upper North Island.
“It will allow people to get to and from work more easily, and it will enable the efficient movement of freight to key export markets, both of which are vital in helping Northland’s economy grow.”
Bridges says the new motorway is also critical to Auckland’s success as Warkworth has been designated as a key Auckland growth area.
More information visit nzta.govt.nz/projects/ara-tuhono-puhoi-to-warkworth.
