Govt announces $100m boost to get Hamilton's Southern Links roading project moving

Monday, 20 October 2025

Southern Links will be a 32km transport network south of Hamilton (file photo).

Hamilton’s next big roading project just got a boost.

Southern Links - a 32km transport project in Hamilton’s south - is getting $100m of funding released to speed up the journey to construction.

The funding - and the fact that NZ Transport Agency has endorsed the investment case for the project - was announced by the Government on Monday afternoon, as part of an update on “Roads of National Significance”.

Southern Links will “complete the missing connection between West Hamilton and SH1”, according to an NZTA factsheet.

Hamilton MPs Ryan Hamilton and Tama Potaka said the project would mean shorter commutes, better links to new houses and jobs, and would better cater to a growing population.

Four-laning part of SH1C Greenwood St is among the proposals. They also include a new east-west 110kph expressway between SH1 and SH1C and a new north-south 100kph state highway from south of Peacocke to the airport, as well as new roundabouts, interchanges, and overbridges.

Southern Links has been in planning for more than 20 years, NZTA documents say, and the anticipated route was designated in 2016.

There’s a $2.32-2.72 billion “investment envelope”, it says.

This map shows what is proposed for the Hamilton Southern Links project and in what stages.

Shorter commute times are also part of the rationale, Hamilton West MP Tama Potaka said in a statement.

“The investment case for Hamilton Southern Links shows expected travel time reductions of 14 minutes between Tamahere and Western Hamilton,” he said. “The project will also support eventual access to 17,300 new houses and 7100 new jobs, powering development and economic growth.”

Work like this is crucial because an extra 224,000 people will call Waikato home by 2048, Hamilton East MP Ryan Hamilton said.

“The benefit-cost ratio for this project is 2.3 when including Wider Economic Benefits, showcasing the added value that it will provide.”

The project is described as a transport network that spans 32km. Of that, 26.6km would be state highways and 5.4km local roads.

It’s in and around Peacocke, an area that’s a focus for growth through Hamilton City Council.

Up to 7400 extra homes are envisaged there over 40 years.

The Peacocke area spans 740 hectares and already has some key puzzle pieces in place, such as Te Ara Pekapeka river bridge and wastewater infrastructure.

Now NZTA has approved the Southern Links investment case, the next steps include more design work, property acquisition and consents, a statement said.

Timelines could still change but an indicative timeline published by NZTA shows design and consenting being finished by the end of 2029.

The Government had previously signalled that Southern Links was on its priority list, along with the Cambridge-Piarere expressway extension - which got consent in September.

The project is one of several designated “Roads of National Significance” that were part of an announcement by Transport Minister Chris Bishop and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Monday afternoon.

They announced the New Zealand Transport Agency had signed off on the investment cases for each of the “Roads of National Significance” (RoNS) and that two would be fast-tracked: the Northland Expressway and second Mt Vic tunnel in Wellington.

It was welcome news for the National Road Carriers Association, which said in a statement that all the projects were “much needed improvements that will deliver safety, resilience and productivity to the roading network”.

“Many have been on the drawing boards in various states for decades so this meaningful progress is worthy of celebration,” GM of policy and advocacy James Smith said.

“Construction will bring much needed work for the civil construction sector that has been through a fairly bleak few years.”