Still no money to build Woodend Bypass as Waimakariri mayor demands answers from minister

Thursday, 9 July 2026

Transport Minister Chris Bishop on Thursday released a long-awaited plan for the country’s major roading projects. But there is no money to start building those in the South Island.

The South Island’s long-awaited Woodend and Hope bypasses still have no money allocated to start construction, prompting Waimakariri mayor Dan Gordon to write to Transport Minister Chris Bishop to seek answers on when that might change for the critical project in his district.

The NZTA board approved funding of $127 million last year for the detailed design, property acquisition and early works for the Woodend Bypass.

But as yet, not a dollar has been promised from the Government for construction.

“We have been advocating on behalf of our community strongly for over 20 years about just how needed this project is,” Gordon said. “We will continue to strongly advocate with ministers and NZ Transport Agency for construction funding to be committed as we move towards this next phase.”

Transport Minister Chris Bishop on Thursday released a long-awaited plan for how the Government would sequence the country’s list of desired major transport projects.

Waimakariri mayor Dan Gordon says he is writing to Bishop to ask for answers about when funding will be forthcoming.

The plan, called NZ Transport Agency’s “Major Transport Projects Pipeline”, shows changes to what National campaigned on in 2023.

It includes three categories for projects: Phase one means a project is under construction. Phase two refers to preparing for construction and route protection, while phase three is “continuing more slowly”.

The Woodend Bypass in North Canterbury and the Hope Bypass in Tasman are both regarded as roads of national significance.

Gordon says the council has been advocating on behalf of the community for more than 20 years about the importance of the Woodend Bypass.

The Woodend Bypass appears in the phase two “future pipeline” category, with no implementation date.

In its 2023 election campaign National promised to begin construction within one to three years. As of this month, it remains in the “implementation ready” phase, but construction will start no earlier than 2027.

The first stage of the Hope Bypass is also listed as being in the “future pipeline” category, but the second stage has dropped to phase three.

Gordon welcomed progress on the ground — pre-implementation works are under way, including the filling of quarry lakes — and said the phasing announcement provided “additional certainty.”

But with no money yet committed to construction, he said on Thursday he would write to Bishop to seek further explanation about how the phasing would work and to get reassurance on funding commitments.

National MP for Waimakariri Matt Doocey said the Woodend Bypass progressing to phase two, along with the Belfast to Pegasus Expressway, was “good news” for the community, with provisional consent granted and early works under way.

“The project has been delayed during the fast-track process where the application was suspended for NZTA to respond to all the comments received by the panel.

“I’m confident once all the consents have been granted through the Fast Track Approvals Act the project will move to the next stage.”

Two major Wellington projects have also been pushed out to the distant future.

Bishop has been preparing the ground for some kind of backdown on roads of national significance projects for some time, warning that New Zealand had nowhere near enough money from fuel taxes for the wider programme.

A map of the Belfast to Pegasus Motorway and Woodend Bypass, proposed to be a toll road charging $2.50 for light vehicles and $5 for heavy vehicles.

The Woodend Bypass, combined with upgrades from Belfast to Pegasus, is estimated to cost between $800 million and $1 billion.

It will extend State Highway 1 north of Christchurch from the SH1/SH71 Lineside Rd interchange to just north of the Pegasus roundabout, and includes a 6km bypass of Woodend. The upgrade could save commuters 10 minutes during peak hour traffic.

It could include a toll to support construction and maintenance. NZTA has given Bishop a formal proposal on tolling to take to Cabinet for a final decision.

The motorway was initially announced by the previous National government in 2017 but was cancelled in 2018. The current government reinstated the project, approving funding for pre-implementation and early works.

The Hope Bypass, billed to cost up to $1.4b, would see upgrades on the Richmond Deviation and Queen St intersection, and a new four-lane highway built along the Railway Reserve in a bid to solve Richmond’s congestion.

The roads of national significance projects in phase one, those actually under construction, are all in the North Island.