New Northland expressway plan gets corporate endorsement

A Northland businessman says the decision to build the Northland Motorway as a major public-private partnership gives him hope it will be completed in his lifetime.

This week Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced three nationally significant roads that will form the motorway from Warkworth to Whangārei. Will be combined into one large project delivered in three phases.

It will be built as a public-private partnership (PPP), with the possibility of using fast-track legislation or amending the Public Works Act to speed up construction further.

Riki Kinnaird, co-owner of the Duke of Marlborough Hotel in Russell, said many businesses had been badly hit by the lack of reliable transport links between Northland and Auckland. He said anything that could speed up the construction of a resilient four-lane motorway would be welcome.

Kinnaird said treating it as an end-to-end project, built in three phases, meant no three parts would be left out.

He welcomed the estimate that the integrated approach could shave 10 years off the project’s completion time.

“If they can speed it up another five years, that would be even better – but at least we can now get it done in our lifetime and it will be on target,” he said.

“Anything that can push it forward is amazing. Ten years is huge and it means my kids will be able to see it and their kids will be able to see it in the future.”

Kinnaird said he had no problem with building the highway as a public-private partnership.

“As pragmatists, we need funding anyway, and public-private partnerships are normal and we are not afraid of them. Without them, it cannot be achieved. There are indeed excellent examples of partnerships working overseas, and we should follow their lead.”

Kinnaird said Northland businesses were keen on repair This is a repair work being carried out on the section of Interstate 1 that passes through the Brindwin Mountains.

“But any time it rains hard it gets blocked again and that’s really frightening to us, so it’s good to give us hope.”

Auckland will also benefit

Paul Linton, chief executive of regional development agency Northland Inc, said the motorway would allow Northland to move goods to Auckland more quickly and reliably, benefiting both regions.

Combining the three projects into one is a wise decision because it makes it less likely that construction will be halted in the future due to a change in government. It will also save a lot of money because whoever ends up building the project will treat it as a whole.

Like Kinnaird, Linton is not opposed to public-private partnerships.

“The reality is that we don’t have the wherewithal to build infrastructure across the country, not just in Northland. So we have to look at innovative financing solutions, including PPPs and toll roads.

“I’ve spoken to everyone in Northland and they’re happy to pay as long as we get the road fixed and fixed quickly.”

Mr Linton said fairness would be questioned if Northlanders had to pay tolls while other areas that benefited from the SH1 upgrade did not.

“On the other hand, if that’s what it takes to get the job done, then we’ll do it.”

plan

The project is divided into three stages: from Warkworth to Te Hana (north of Wellsford); from Te Hana to Port Marsden (along an alternative route near Mount Brindwin that has not yet been decided); and from Port Marsden to Whangarei.

The three sections currently total 98.7 kilometres, but the final highway may be longer due to the need to bypass the Brindwyn Mountains.

The Waikato Expressway is 101.4 kilometres long, a similar length to the Waikato Freeway, but is built on flatter terrain.

By comparison, the problematic and costly Transmission Gully near Wellington is just 27 kilometres.

Meanwhile, the Employers and Manufacturers Association said the government’s announcement would boost business confidence in Northland ahead of work on the motorway.

Head of advocacy Alan McDonald said Northland had been plagued by poor infrastructure for decades.

“At the moment the road between Warkworth and Whangarei is frequently closed, effectively cutting Northland off from the rest of the country. As a result we’re seeing businesses and investors being reluctant to put money into the region,” Mr MacDonald said.

“This is why Northland has struggled economically despite its wealth of resources. The new highway will help address this issue by fully integrating Northland into the country’s Golden Triangle region, where the majority of the country’s economic activity is located.”

“The good news is we don’t have to wait for the motorway to be completed to see the positive economic benefits. As the new link is built, we are likely to see more investment in economic activity in Northland.”

MacDonald said anyone who wanted to understand the potential impact only had to look at the Waikato Freeway, which had seen rapid development in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty since connections to Auckland were improved.

“The new motorway will connect Northland to Auckland and these high-growth regions, giving Northland businesses better access to goods, services, markets and people. It will also allow Northport to play a greater role alongside major ports such as the Port of Auckland and the Port of Tauranga,” he said.

“There is no reason why Northland cannot become a high growth region and the new motorway can help achieve that, unlocking the region’s potential and helping to address some of Northland’s long-standing social and economic issues.”

A study by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research earlier this year found a motorway between Auckland and Northland would add $2.1 billion to the national GDP and deliver more than $560 million in direct economic benefits to Northland each year.