Waikato Expressway Cambridge to Piarere tender process begins

The Cambridge to Piarere extension of the Waikato Expressway is one step closer to construction as tender processes get underway.

Shortlisted contractors are now being invited to tender for the first section of the extension as NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) moves into the next phase of procurement for the road of national significance.

The project will be built in two sections.

The first will upgrade the existing State Highway 1 from the Cambridge Southern Interchange to south of the Karāpiro Interchange.

The second will build a new section of expressway through farmland, connecting with the SH1/SH29 roundabout at Piarere.

NZTA regional manager infrastructure delivery Waikato and Bay of Plenty, Adrian Jones, said the tender process for the first section will run until December 2026, when the agency expects to award the contract.

Construction of this section, from Cambridge to Karāpiro, is expected to start in early 2027.

Procurement for the second section, from Karāpiro to Piarere, is expected to get underway in the coming weeks, with a contract expected to be awarded in early to mid-2027, Jones said.

“With consents granted, early works underway and procurement progressing, we’re continuing to make good progress and move the project further toward construction,” Jones said.

“The expressway will further improve safety, support economic growth and provide a more resilient connection for people and freight travelling through the central North Island.”

Budget 2026 included $1.773 billion for the Cambridge to Piarere Expressway.

The balance of the project funding will come from the National Land Transport Fund.

The new four-lane, 16km section of expressway follows the existing SH1, from where the Waikato Expressway currently ends at Cambridge Southern Interchange, to Karāpiro Rd.

Near Karāpiro Rd, the alignment moves north on to a new corridor about 1km north of the existing SH1 and ends at the new SH1/SH29 roundabout.

Key components of the Cambridge to Piarere project include a new interchange at Karāpiro Rd, an extension of local roads from near the existing end of the Cambridge Southern Interchange to the proposed Karāpiro Interchange, and four bridges.

Three of those bridges will reach over existing gullies, while one overbridge will provide access to a realigned local road at Tunakawa Rd.

Consents for the project were granted in September 2025 and early works approved by NZTA in December are underway.

NZTA expects the construction of the whole project to take between five and six years.

The case for the Cambridge to Piarere Expressway extension was first identified in 2013 and work began on a business case, which was endorsed in 2015.

In 2021, the NZTA board supported the recommendation.

The project was confirmed as a road of national significance and a priority of the 2024-27 National Land Transport Plan.