New Zealand ponders tolling new major roads

Roads of National Significance may get alternative funding to speed their completion
By David Arminas July 22, 2024 Read time: 2 mins
Major roads are 'critical piece of the puzzle when it comes to improving New Zealand’s land transport network' (© Adwo | Dreamstime.com)

New Zealand transport minister Simeon Brown is considering tolling seven new “Roads of National Significance” if that would speed their completion.

Media reports noted that NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) said procurement and construction of the roads could start within the next three years.

The projects are Belfast-to-Pegasus, the Hawke’s Bay Expressway, SH1 Cambridge-to-Piarere, State Highway 29 Tauriko, Takitimu North Link Stage 2, Mill Road and Warkworth-to-Wellsford.

Brown reportedly said more information about completion times and costs would be known by the end of September. He noted that tolling is a good method for ensuring the roads get sufficient funding for completion. “So where NZTA recommends a toll, we will support tolling of that infrastructure to pay for it. It is a user-pays approach,” he said.

The government recently announced it had prioritised 17 Roads of National Significance that it wants to completed as soon as possible. They were highlighted in the government's recent Policy Statement on Land Transport but the cost of completion remains uncertain, according to media reports. 

The government has repeatedly said it would aim to use alternative revenue options where possible, including public-private partnerships, and user-pays options like road tolling, equity finance schemes and value capture.

NZTA already operates three toll roads: the Northern Gateway Toll Road north of Auckland, the Tauranga Eastern Link Toll Road and the Takitimu Drive Toll Road, both in Tauranga.

Nick Leggett, chief executive of Infrastructure New Zealand – a membership organisation for the transport sector - has come out in favour of tolling. He said Roads of National Significance are much needed for the country’s economic and social development.

“Safe and efficient four-lane and grade-separated highways are not cheap, yet they are a critical piece of the puzzle when it comes to improving New Zealand’s land transport network,” said Leggett. “Tolling is the way to go to help deliver these new highway projects… We cannot kick the can down the road any longer.”

Charging, Tolling & RUC

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Managed motorways, hard shoulder running aids safety, saves time
    January 30, 2012
    The announcement that, in 2012/13, work to extend Managed Motorways to Junctions 5-8 of the M6 near Birmingham in the West Midlands is scheduled to start marks the next step for the UK's hard shoulder running concept, first introduced on the M42 in 2006. The M6 scheme is in fact one of several announced; over the next few years work will start on applying Managed Motorways to various sections of the M1, M25 London Orbital, M60 and M62. According to Paul Unwin, senior project manager with the Highways Agency
    Read More
  • Rating agency Standard and Poor Tolling sees a bright future for tolling
    September 6, 2017
    Few disruptions appear on the horizon for global toll road operators, with the US poised to become a better bet for major investment, according to ratings agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P’s) Global Ratings’ 2017 report, which rates toll road operators according to their ability to raise capital. The outlook is generally stable for business conditions and credit quality for toll roads worldwide. One positive exception is the US where the overall outlook is ‘positive’ as S&P expects traffic growth to increase
    Read More
  • EU defines and limits scope of tolling concessions
    September 16, 2014
    New regulations are set to standardise the process of awarding concessions across the European Union. In the wake of several inconsistent judgements at the European Court of Justice, the European Commission has approved new legislation that defines a concession. The basic demarcation from a public contract remains the same in that concessions include the right to exploit the work or services provided instead of payment. However, at the point of signing, the regulations impose an all-inclusive threshold of €
    Read More
  • Growth of telematics-based pay as you drive car insurance systems
    July 17, 2012
    Car insurance made cheaper by telematics has returned to news headlines in the UK this year. Will it really take off this time and can vehicle tracking provide an effective tool for enforcing or encouraging insurance compliance? Jon Masters reports Will 2012 go down as the year that telematics-based car insurance took off? In the UK at least, a groundswell of new policies, with premiums priced on the basis of tracked and analysed driving style, suggests a turning point has been reached. Some would argue t
    Read More

Highlighted Content