The coalition Government says it will accelerate work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei – a move the road freight industry says will help boost the country’s economy by billions of dollars.
It has agreed in principle to an accelerated delivery strategy that will enable the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to deliver the Northland Roads of National Significance as a single expressway between the two cities.
Transport Minister Simeon Brown says the 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”.
“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 says.
The road transport industry has been urgently calling for an alternative Northland route through the Brynderwyns. The industry says it has been serving road users well for the past 50-plus years but with increased freight and passenger traffic between Auckland and Whangarei, plus continual landslips, the road is now “not fit for purpose“.
Meanwhile, 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,” he says.
Last year, a report by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER), commissioned by local business consortium Northland Corporate Group, found that the Warkworth to Wellsford section of the expressway alone would increase New Zealand’s annual GDP by $497 million.
It also said investing in a four-lane expressway along the entirety of State Highway 1 between Auckland and Northland could boost national gross domestic product (GDP) by $1.2 billion per year by 2050.
“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 adds.
Roading ‘long overdue’
Dom Kalasih, chief executive of road freight body Transporting NZ, says roading improvements in Northland are “long overdue”, with the current state of the highway network acting as a significant barrier to economic growth in the region.
“A more resilient, safer and efficient connection between Northland and Auckland will unlock billions of dollars in economic potential, providing benefits not only to Northland but the wider country. It will also resolve the persistent and disruptive closures to SH1 over the Brynderwyn Hills, that have resulted in delays, frustration and safety concerns for our road freight members and other road users.”
Kalasih says both Transporting NZ and Infrastructure New Zealand “thoroughly endorsed” the Northland Expressway NZIER report which backed the case for substantial investment in the region’s network. “This is the kind of bold investment we need for our transport network and economy.”
Kalasih is also welcoming the Government’s announcement of a public private partnership model to deliver the Northland Expressway, but says Transporting NZ will be keeping a close eye on the details.
“The Northland Expressway will be one of the largest infrastructure projects in our history, so it’s a great opportunity to ensure it benefits from innovative thinking and efficiencies from private sector partners.
“With careful implementation and management, a progressive private public partnership model can deliver the Expressway faster and more cheaply than conventional approaches,” Kalasih says.
‘100% aligned’
National Road Carriers Association (NRC) also welcomes 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,” chief executive Justin Tighe-Umbers says.
“A pipeline of work that has the scale to attract infrastructure companies to commit to investing in both the equipment and people to deliver the quality transport network is needed to grow New Zealand’s economy.
“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.
“Combining the projects into a single corridor will mean less time and money spent on procurement, design and supporting project management,” Tighe-Umbers says.
