Auckland's planned Penlink highway could be made a toll road

Friday, 14 January 2022

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, flanked by Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Finance Minister Grant Robertson, announces a $12 billion infrastructure package (Video first published January 2020).

Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency is asking for feedback on whether a highly anticipated new highway in north Auckland should be tolled.

Construction for Penlink, a two-lane connection between the Whangaparāoa Peninsula and State Highway 1, is due to start at in 2022 for completion 2026.

The seven kilometre road and bridge over the Weiti River will help manage urban growth in the Silverdale, Hibiscus Coast and Whangaparāoa areas.

If agreed, there could be different toll prices for peak and off-peak hours. The prices could vary between $1 to $4, with heavy freight paying more than light vehicles.

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The proposed route for the 7km Penlink highway, from the Whangaparāoa Peninsula to SH1.

The road is expected to reduce travel times and will also cater to cyclists and pedestrians.

The project was previously pushed back until the end of the decade but was put back into the spotlight in 2020 as part of a $12 billion infrastructure announcement by the Government.

It is estimated the project will cost $830 million – almost double what the Government anticipated in 2020. It will no longer be funded by a Private Public Partnership (PPP), which successive governments have pondered since 1981.

On Monday, Waka Kotahi will begin consultation on whether Penlink should be a toll road.

If the Government approves the toll, it will be in place when the road opens.

National manager of infrastructure delivery Mark Kinvig said in a statement the toll would go towards maintaining the road to keep it “safe and resilient”.

“Government funding for the Penlink project has been provided for the planning and construction of the project only, so the ongoing costs of maintaining and operating the road need to be found from other funding sources.”

“Tolling revenue from Penlink and future new state highways could be used to pay for their maintenance and operations rather than trying to find funding from the National Land Transport Fund, which is under increasing pressure to fund transport improvements across the country.”

“Variable tolling helps people make choices about when they travel, and therefore the toll price they pay. It will also reduce travel times on Penlink during peak hours,” Kinvig said.

Waka Kotahi is proposing three toll points on the road, so motorists will only have to pay for the parts they use.

The road will have connections at Whangaparāoa Rd, the Stillwater Township and East Coast Rd.

Those who don’t wish to pay the toll may still access free alternative routes.

Janet Fitzgerald, who is a member of the Penlink Now lobby group, said the group had not met to discuss its submission, but she personally felt it was unfair for the road to be tolled, when many others were not.

“Up here [in north Auckland] we feel that we seem to have been singled out, whereas some other new roads have been done, but they are not tolled.

“Why should Penlink be different to any other road?”

She also believed it was unfair that the toll price would rise at peak times.

Due to Covid-19, there will be limited face-to-face information sessions at the Whangaparāoa Library.

Consultation will run between January 17 and February 13. You can have your say here.