It’s nice when a plan comes together.
There’s recently been a number of announcements by the Government about roading projects that are just finished, underway or planned for the near future.
Some of these include:
- The epic resealing of the 119 lane kilometres between Tirau and Waiouru.
- The early opening of the off-ramp on the Pāpāmoa East Interchange in Tauranga.
- NZTA endorsing Tauriko West Road of National Significance for the western Bay of Plenty.
- Plans for the Northland Expressway from Port Marsden to Whangārei Roads of National Significance confirmed by NZTA.
- Getting the Christchurch Southern Motorway up to 110 km/h.
These are bold, they’re big, and they are, unfortunately, costly. There’s always been reasons why we couldn’t afford to do a lot of what is now being done. But in the last few years it’s become obvious we can’t afford NOT to do these things.
There needs to be a solid momentum in the budget. A record $32.9 billion investment in New Zealand’s transport network was announced in last September’s National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) 2024-2027.
NZTA’s forecasting shows a growing revenue deficit, reaching $6b per year by 2030. This requires a dramatic rethink of New Zealand’s approach to paying for projects. Already there are moves to broaden RUC, or road user charges, to capture e-vehicles not paying fuel excises, and tolling for new routes.
We’ll support some of those things, when we think they’re sensible. For instance, we think new toll roads make sense, but we also opposed tolling the upcoming Manawatū Tararua Highway as it was a replacement for an existing road.
We try and be pragmatic. But we also know the commitment will pay off. Investing in transport will support the growth we need, whereas running down assets just costs more in the long-term.
Now I don’t want to say it was just Transporting New Zealand’s advocacy that’s got these projects underway. We’ve done a lot, but there are a lot of other industry groups that have been working hard to build some government-level enthusiasm for getting stuff done.
But we have been consistent in our call for better roads, and more routes, for a long time.
It is hugely useful that this Coalition Government, through some strong leadership in the Transport portfolio, has shown it is committed to developing New Zealand’s infrastructure. It’s made some controversial decisions, sometimes against strong opposition. But it has its eye on the prize of building a network that is safer for all users, and more productive for the country.
Our own social media lit up this week with an article about why 50Max should be the new normal for trucks.
A lot of people don’t like trucks on the roads, heck, there are people who would prefer rail and coastal shipping do most of the heavy lifting for transport. Literally.
But there’s a reason 92 per cent of all freight is carried by trucks – they go to where the goods are needed.
We fully back any combination of road, rail and sea transport as long as it makes economic sense.
What hasn’t made sense is shying away from the need for New Zealand to have a strong roading network, one that doesn’t rely on a few key bridges, and which can withstand weather bombs and cyclones and whatever else nature has ready to go.
So here’s to big thinking, big projects, good roads and to governments that say yes to keeping the country moving.
