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

  • Taiwan to go all-electronic free flow tolling
    November 28, 2013
    Taiwan’s 900 kilometres of toll roads will transition to all-electronic free flow operations early next year. The roads, which include three north-south routes with 22 toll points, carry out around 1.7 million transactions a day, generating some US$700 million of annual toll revenue. Private contractor Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection Company (FETC), under contract to the National Freeway Bureau to collect the tolls, says that the IR-based toll system worked well and some 43 per cent of transactio
    Read More
  • ITS (UK): Shift to emissions free vehicles will make road network funding unsustainable
    November 30, 2017
    Shortfalls in fuel tax caused by moving to emissions-free vehicles will make current ways of funding road networks unsustainable, according to a joint forum between ITS (UK) Road User Charging Interest Group and ITS Ireland hosted by Aecom, Dublin. The group consisted of policy makers, toll operators, payment providers and highway users from seven European countries.
    Read More
  • Road death toll increasing in poor countries, says WHO report
    February 20, 2019
    The latest figures from the World Health Organisation on road deaths make sobering reading – but they are particularly shocking when you consider how the relative poverty of countries contributes to high fatality rates, says Adam Hill Around 1.35 million people died on the world’s roads in 2016, while road traffic injuries are now the leading cause of death among young people, according to new statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO). Perhaps the most sobering point from its latest research
    Read More
  • Vehicle identification systems aid dynamic bus operations
    April 24, 2013
    David Crawford looks at a global trend towards more efficiency in less space As buses gain increased profile in the public transport mix needed for modal shift, attention is turning towards improving terminal layouts for more efficient handling of services and passengers. Locations, too, tend to be in central areas of cities, where sites are restricted and land values high. Enter the dynamic bus station, which uses modern vehicle identification systems to optimise space use and streamline service operation
    Read More

Highlighted Content