New Zealand Road Projects

[Plutonic Panda]

A new 6.2 billion USD plan to improve and expand roads and freeways in NZ.

https://www.worldhighways.com/wh8/news/canterbury-new-zealands-us662-billion-transport-plan

[vdeane]

This looks to me like it's essentially their equivalent of a MPO program update, so probably not as exciting as the headline initially suggests.

Also, we had previously been appropriating this thread for New Zealand news, although one could question whether we should have.

[Chris]

The original Roads of National Significance (RoNS) projects was launched in 2009. This included some of the largest road upgrades in New Zealand in decades:

    SH 1: Puhoi - Wellsford (Auckland Northern Motorway)
    SH 16/SH 18/SH 20: Western Ring Route, Auckland (Waterview Connection)
    SH 1: Victoria Park Tunnel in Auckland
    SH 1: Waikato Expressway
    SH 2: Tauranga Eastern Link
    SH 1: Wellington Northern Corridor (Transmission Gully Motorway, Kapiti Expressway)
    SH 1/SH 73/SH 74: Christchurch Motorways

These are now completed.

The Waikato Expressway in particular was the first longer distance expressways in New Zealand, and the first two link two separate cities not part of the same metro area (Auckland and Hamilton).

The second round of projects announced recently appears to be of a smaller scale.

[kiwislark]

The original Roads of National Significance (RoNS) projects was launched in 2009. This included some of the largest road upgrades in New Zealand in decades:

  SH 1: Puhoi - Wellsford (Auckland Northern Motorway)
    SH 16/SH 18/SH 20: Western Ring Route, Auckland (Waterview Connection)
    SH 1: Victoria Park Tunnel in Auckland
    SH 1: Waikato Expressway
    SH 2: Tauranga Eastern Link
    SH 1: Wellington Northern Corridor (Transmission Gully Motorway, Kapiti Expressway)
    SH 1/SH 73/SH 74: Christchurch Motorways

These are now completed.

The Waikato Expressway in particular was the first longer distance expressways in New Zealand, and the first two link two separate cities not part of the same metro area (Auckland and Hamilton).

The second round of projects announced recently appears to be of a smaller scale.

Technically Puhoi-Wellsford isn't finished yet because it only goes as far as Warkworth at the moment! A very nice road though.

Here's the current RONs from the National/ACT/NZ First coalition government:

Northland

• SH1 Alternative to Brynderwyns - not stated
• SH1 Whangarei to Port Marsden - $1.3b

Auckland

• SH16 North West Alternative State Highway - $2.3b (extension of current SH16 Northwestern Motorway)
• SH1 Warkworth to Wellsford - $2.2b (extension of current SH1 Puhoi to Warkworth motorway)
• East West Link - $1.9b
• Mill Road Expressway - $1.3b

Waikato & Bay of Plenty

• SH29 Tauriko West (Tauranga) - $1.9b
  
• SH1 Cambridge to Piarere - $721m (extension of current SH1 Waikato Expressway)
• Takitimu Northern Link Stage 2 (Tauranga) - $627m
• Hamilton Southern Links - $600m

Hawkes Bay

• SH2 Hawkes Bay Expressway 4 laning - not stated

Wellington

• SH1 Second Mount Victoria Tunnel & Basin Reserve upgrade - $2.2b
• Petone to Granada Link Road and Cross Valley Link - $1.2b

South Island

• SH1 Belfast to Pegasus Motorway and Woodend Bypass (Christchurch) - $270m (extension of existing SH1 Christchurch Northern Corridor)
• SH6 Hope Bypass (Nelson) - $250m

https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/350204163/cheat-sheet-governments-15-roads-national-significance