Politics Blog - May 13-19

Transport Minister Simeon Brown has announced that Roads of National Significance and Roads of Regional Significance will replace the NZ Upgrade Programme (NZUP). 

“The Roads of National Significance built by the previous National Government are some of New Zealand’s most successful State Highway corridors, reducing congestion and improving safety,” Brown said.

“Expanding this programme to roads that are regionally significant will ensure that our cities and regions are well-connected, and our economy thrives. Similar to RoNS, Roads of Regional Significance will single out essential routes that require prioritisation.

“NZUP was subject to significant cost blowouts that resulted in project cancellations and delays across the country,” Brown said.

Brown added that scrutiny will be put on project costs and scope 

“We are changing how decisions are made on these projects and NZTA will be progressing with two RoNS and ten RoRS. Two further projects will now be incorporated into the Mill Road and Whangarei to Port Marsden Roads of National Significance listed in the draft Government Policy Statement on land transport 2024,” Brown said.

“In order to continue to deliver these projects, difficult decisions were made to keep costs within the existing $6.54 billion funding. We have made clear to NZTA that it must deliver these projects within the existing funding envelope, as there will be no additional Crown funding,” Brown added. 

Projects progressed as roads of regional significance include:

Penlink
Waihoehoe Road
SH1 Papakura to Drury
SH1/29 intersection
SH58 improvements stage 2
Melling 
Canterbury package - rural intersections
Canterbury package - Rolleston upgrade
Canterbury package - Halswell 
Queenstown package
Brougham Street
SH22 Drury 
Manukau to Takaanini Access and Safety (Mill Road)
SH1 Whangarei to Port Marsden safety improvements

The Whangarei to Port Marsden and Manukau to Takaanini projects will be incorporated into the SH1 Whangarei to Port Marsden and Mill Road Roads of National Significance already listed in draft GPS 2024. These will be considered for funding through the National Land Transport Programme.

 

The Brougham Street and SH22 Drury projects will complete pre-implementation so that they are ready for delivery. However, any further Crown funding for these projects to progress beyond pre-implementation will only come from the $6.54 billion baseline funding, subject to the completion of other projects in delivery and procurement.

 

The Minister of Finance and Minister of Transport have made expectations clear that any scope changes should be made consistent with the objectives of the draft Government Policy Statement on land transport.