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

  • The sunshine subsidy for Colorado’s tollways
    January 10, 2014
    David Crawford reports on energy cost cutting on US highways. Just over a year after switch-on and with two global awards under its belt, the longest solar-powered toll road in the US is generating heightened interest in highway applications of alternative energy. The E-407, which loops around the eastern perimeter of the Denver metropolitan area in Colorado, won the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) President’s Overall Award for Excellence at its September 2013 Annual Meeting in
    Read More
  • Inland waterways can de-stress city roads
    March 17, 2016
    David Crawford looks at an under-utilised solution for city-centre deliveries. The use of rivers and canals for moving freight is a well-established mode in North Western Europe, where it can take advantage of an intensively developed network. In the Netherlands, 40% of the total volume of goods transported internally goes by water; the figure for Flanders (the neighbouring Dutch-speaking region of Belgium) is 11.5%.
    Read More
  • Smart motorways make sense, says FTA
    September 4, 2015
    The implementation of smart motorways in Northern Ireland would make economic, environmental and safety sense, according to the Freight Transport Association (FTA) today. Responding to a study commissioned by the roads authority, TransportNI, which outlines the proposal of the M1 and M2 in and out of Belfast becoming smart motorways, FTA stated that freight operators would see benefits in the introduction, economically, environmentally and would improve safety on the routes.
    Read More
  • Massachusetts moves to cashless tolling
    March 28, 2013
    Drivers in Massachusetts may no longer need to worry about having cash on hand as they hit toll roads. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is planning to replace every tollbooth in the state with electronic tolling systems that read E-ZPass transponders in cars and send monthly bills to drivers who use toll roads without passes. “We’re trying to look at doing things faster, more efficiently and provide more information to the public,” said MassDOT Highway Administrator Frank DePaola.
    Read More

Highlighted Content