Final step of Waikato Expressway starts rolling

Thursday, 11 July 2024

Construction on the long awaited Cambridge to Piarere extension of the Waikato Expressway could begin in two years.

And the ball is rolling on the paperwork around the project - one of the Government’s first seven Roads of National Significance (RoNS) - anytime from now with the Transport Agency aiming to lodge applications for the designation and resource by the end of this year.

Transport Minister Simeon Brown welcomed news, which would extend the expressway south past Lake Karapiro to the heavily used turn-off to the Bay of Plenty.

“Delivering on commitments in our coalition agreements, we are moving at pace to progress a new generation of RoNS across the country to support economic growth and get people and freight to where they want to go, quickly and safely.

“There is plenty of work to be done, and I’m pleased to see NZTA taking the first steps to deliver upon the Government’s ambitious plan for New Zealand’s transport network.”

The move is also being applauded by Waipā mayor Susan O’Regan, who is pleased the Government is treating the matter with “urgency”.

NZTA’s regional manager of infrastructure delivery Waikato/Bay of Plenty Jo Wilton, said they’re seeking advice on the consenting process given the timeframes they’re trying to achieve.

“Subject to funding, planning approvals and other permits, property acquisition and final design, we expect the first phase of construction to start in late 2026. ”

The project is expected to take six to seven years to complete.

The final shape of the project is still to be finalised but will include a 16-km long four-lane expressway from the southern end of the Waikato Expressway near Cambridge to the new SH1/SH29 roundabout at Piarere.

The works will include a new interchange at Karapiro Road, with realigned local roads via roundabouts. It will also include four new bridges over three existing gullies and one overbridge connecting a realigned local road.

Waikato Expressway was deemed finished in July 2022 when the Hamilton section was completed.

However the stretch of road between Cambridge and Piarere has long been a bugbear for motorists travelling south, with them frequently confronted by congestion as the two lanes bottleneck into one.

The existing highway south, hugging the shore of Karapiro Larapiro, is also a notorious crash spot.

The route is part of the country’s most important transport corridor, connecting the “golden triangle” of Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga, and carries a large proportion of the country’s road freight.

Wilton said the key benefits will be travel time savings, better and quicker freight and people connections, reduced congestion, improved safety, more reliable travel times, boosted regional economic growth and more resilient roading network.

Waipa Mayor Susan O’Regan believes there'll be a demonstrable impact in economic well being for her district and wider Waikato region.

“Waipā has just released 75 hectares of industrial land north of Cambridge. So this really plays beautifully to those plans in terms of Waipā being ready to go for economic development.

O’Regan is confident there’ll be no more u-turns on the roading decision.

“This government constantly told us that they're interested in all things economic development focused, housing focused, and productivity focused. So look, it ticks all those boxes. So I'm confident that they will come through and deliver on the promise.”

As for the possibility of the extension being a toll road, O'Regan is leaving that to the Government.

“This notion of congestion charging, user pay toll roads. Again, no real surprise from this Government.They've repeated it fairly regularly since coming to power.

“So look, it wouldn't surprise me, but that's an issue for them to address, certainly funding and financing of any infrastructure currently is an interesting place to live in.”

The work to date by NZTA on the project has been engagement with mana whenua, landowners, stakeholders, key groups and community since 2016.

The project was approved in 2021, with the preferred road alignment shared with landowners, stakeholders and the community over 2022.

The next steps are subject to supporting activities, which include funding, permits, archaeological authorities and designations and completing property acquisition.

In mid-2025 investigation and tender design will proceed, and it’s hoped, but yet to be confirmed that by mid 2026 the contract will be awarded for the first construction phase.

In the meantime NZTA have been implementing safety improvements on SH1 between Cambridge and Piarere.

“Planning was already underway for an expressway, however knowing that construction would still be a number of years away, we knew there were things we could be doing in the short-term to save lives,” Wilton said.

The improvements have included road widening, side and median safety barriers and turnaround bays begun in December 2020. This month marks the conclusion of stage three which includes 7.9km of flexible median barrier in sections from the end of the Waikato Expressway through to Fergusson Gully Road.

This stage also included the construction of five turnaround bays.

At the end of the Waikato Expressway extension will be the SH1/29 roundabout which is currently under construction.

Work began in January, on the new two-lane roundabout which continues to take shape.

“The two underpass structures have been installed on the SH1 and SH29 approaches and pavement work on the roundabout is underway. Meanwhile construction continues on the southern side, where the Tīrau approach road is being built.”

This has meant traffic south of the roundabout has been moved onto a bypass road adjacent to SH1.

“This arrangement is expected to remain in place until late September 2024, after which the roundabout is expected to open to traffic with two legs operational, while work continues on the third.”

All construction is on track to be finished in mid-late 2025.