Source: New Zealand Government
Transport Minister Chris Bishop has welcomed the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board’s endorsement of the investment case for the Hawke’s Bay Expressway, with construction starting in November on this crucial Road of National Significance (RoNS).
The Board has endorsed the investment case and approved more than $600m to four-lane the most congested part of the Expressway, between Links Road/Pākōwhai Road and Taradale Road roundabouts, including a new grade separated interchange at the Links Road/Pākōwhai Road roundabout.
“The Hawke’s Bay Expressway is one of 17 RoNS being progressed by this Coalition Government. The NZTA Board’s endorsement of the investment case, and approval of construction funding for four-laning of the most congested section, demonstrates our focus to streamline business cases, prioritise economic growth, and get spades in the ground on projects,” Mr Bishop says.
“Hawke’s Bay is home to about 166,000 people and that is expected to increase to 202,000 by 2048, with most of that growth in Napier and Hastings. Upgrading the existing Expressway in a staged and affordable way will ensure we can deliver benefits sooner by alleviating congestion currently being experienced by road users, improve safety, reliability, and resilience, and accommodate future growth.
The investment case for Hawke’s Bay Expressway corridor includes:
- 7km of four-laning between Links Road/Pākōwhai Road and Taradale Road.
- a duplicate two-lane overpass at Meeanee Road.
- a duplicate two-lane overpass at Kennedy Road.
- a duplicate two-lane bridge over Tutaekuri River.
- a four-lane grade separated interchange at Links Road/Pākōwhai Road.
“The decision to fund and undertake early ground improvement and design work late last year in advance of the investment case, including raising the land either side of the Kennedy Road overpass with repurposed, safe Cyclone Gabrielle silt, has proven its value. After waiting 12 months for that soil to compact, it has allowed NZTA to realise benefits of the project earlier than initially programmed and ensures the team can hit the ground running and start construction as early as November this year.
“Contracts to deliver the road and bridge packages of work for the Hawke’s Bay Expressway project will be confirmed through a procurement panel that was established late last year. This process will commence at the end of August, with contracts awarded by October.
“Four-laning is expected to start in November 2025 and be completed in early 2028. Design work for the grade separated interchange at Links Road/Pākōwhai Road will take place next year, with construction expected to begin in late 2027 and be completed in late 2029.
“Once completed, the interchange will ultimately provide road users and freight with almost 12km of free-flowing, uninterrupted travel, and a more reliable connection to Hawke’s Bay Airport and the port in Napier.
“The investment case has shown it represents a strong case for investment with up to 39 per cent improvement in travel times, up to 36 per cent improvement in travel time reliability, up to seven fewer deaths and serious injury crashes, and twice the resilience to flood closure. The Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) is a range of 2.3-2.8 (exclusive of wider economic benefits).
“The Government Policy Statement on land transport 2024 (GPS) requires NZTA to consider tolling for all new RoNS. For the Hawke’s Bay Expressway, tolling has not been pursued as current legislation does not allow tolling across a route where only part of the corridor is being delivered as new infrastructure.
“Future investment beyond the most congested part of the Hawke’s Bay Expressway will be assessed against need, benefits, prioritisation, and funding availability. NZTA expects to begin work in mid-2026 on a Hawke’s Bay System Plan, pending approval of funding, which will take a long-term strategic look at the transport system, including future growth and development. This will help shape a pipeline of future regional transport projects, including consideration of further sections of the Hawke’s Bay Expressway.
“Our Government is committed to delivering a strong pipeline of projects to support jobs and growth. Today’s announcement of more than $600 million of investment in the Hawke’s Bay Expressway project is in addition to the $6 billion of already confirmed Government-funded projects around New Zealand expected to begin construction before Christmas.
“I want to thank local MPs Katie Nimon and Catherine Wedd for their strong advocacy. I look forward to NZTA confirming the successful contractors who will deliver this crucial project for the Hawke’s Bay in the coming weeks and being on site later this year to turn the first sod as construction gets underway.”
Notes to editor:
- The funding approved by the NZTA Board for the most congested part of the Hawke’s Bay Expressway, between Links Road/Pākōwhai Road and Taradale Road roundabouts, includes contingency allowances. To protect the sensitivity of commercial negotiations, more specific figures will be confirmed once contracts are signed by NZTA in the coming months.
- The project will be delivering a total of 7km of four-laning – 6.5km from Taradale Road to Links/Pakowhai Road, and 500m south of Links/Pakowhai road (as part of new interchange).
- The approximately 12km of uninterrupted travel, provided through the new grade separated interchange, will run from Taradale Road to Evenden Road.
