Manawatū Gorge to get $620 million replacement motorway

Monday, 23 September 2019

Transport Minister Phil Twyford has announced the Manawatū Gorge replacement motorway will be funded, with completion expected in 2024.

The Manawatū Gorge replacement motorway has been given the green light by the Government.

Work is expected to start early next year and be completed by 2024, at a cost of $620 million.

Transport Minister Phil Twyford said the new project would deliver an economic boost through the lower North Island.

'It will restore a crucial transport link that supports the needs of locals and travellers through the region.'

An animated video of the indicative route of the Te Ahu a Turanga: the Manawatū-Hawke's Bay highway, the Manawatu Gorge replacement road.

* Frustration over Ashhurst's Manawatū Gorge-related traffic woes

* Woodville gets preview of new Manawatū Gorge route**

The indicative route released last year has the new road running from near the western entry of the now-closed State Highway 3 gorge route, crossing the Ruahine Range north of the gorge, and reconnecting to SH3 at Woodville.

The old road through the gorge has been closed since April 2017.

The project has been funded in part thanks to the NZ Transport Agency deciding to take $313 million of the land transport budget set aside for Auckland's light rail and put it towards other transport projects.

A replacement for the closed State Highway 3 through the Manawatū Gorge has been given the green light by the Government.

With construction not expected to start until 2021, the funding allocated for the project moves elsewhere.

Of that money, $100 million has gone to the Manawatū Gorge project, with the remainder spent on other transport agency works.

'I welcome the NZTA board's decision to reallocate funding while the Ministry of Transport evaluates options for Auckland light rail,' Twyford said.

'It means we can crack on with other projects while we take the time to get a multibillion-dollar game-changing infrastructure for Auckland right.'

Twyford has recently been in the firing line for the level of transport spending, after briefings purported to show spending had stalled following a pivot away from spending on state highways in favour of local roads and rail.

He has pushed back strongly on those claims, saying the Government was 'spending more than ever before in transport'.

'There's more than 100 projects completed or under way under this Government, with many more to come.'

The Government has hit back at National's criticism of a lack of transport spending, saying that while the former government promised to build several major roads, it often failed to allocate funding.

Initial work on the Manawatū Gorge replacement motorway began under the previous government, but it did not fund the road.

Although full construction will not begin on the project until next year, enabling works are expected to begin this year.

The rest of the project's funding will be spread out over the next three-year National Land Transport Programme, which takes effect from 2021.

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