Toll charge for new road

‘‘The road will be maintained to a high level as there will be guaranteed income that will only be used to maintain this road.’’

Michael Wood, Transport Minister

A new $830 million highway north of Auckland connecting State Highway 1 to the Whangaparā oa Peninsula will be tolled.

Transport Minister Michael Wood announced the user-pays charges for the O Mahurangi-Penlink road on Monday, after Stuff had revealed the Government was set to make the move.

Hibiscus Coast commuters will pay $3 a trip during peak traffic, from 6am to 9am and 4pm to 7pm, and $2 outside rush hours. That’s a dollar cheaper than Waka Kotahi had consulted the public on.

Heavy vehicles will pay double those rates, while public transport and cyclists will be able to use it free of charge.

Wood said in addition to the up front $830m, the road will cost the government $3m a year to maintain.

‘‘The road will mostly serve specific communities, and so the Government has decided the fairest option is for drivers who will use the road to contribute through its ongoing maintenance costs through tolls

‘‘By using a tolling model the community can be assured the road will be maintained to a high level as there will be guaranteed income that will only be used to maintain this road,’’ Wood said.

At a contract signing in June, Wood said he was ‘‘strongly considering’’ tolling the road, citing public support for the idea. Public consultation in 2006 by the former Rodney District Council showed 90% of the public supported a tolled Penlink but results from a second consultation last year have not been released on Waka Kotahi’s website.

On Monday, Wood said he had decided to make the toll cheaper than the figure consulted on, in response to feedback. He said that the cameras had also been placed so residents who had no choice to use it would not be tolled.

The project is expected to reduce Whangaparā oa motorists’ commute to the city by 20 minutes and provide enough capacity for 20 years of growth, Wood said.

Residents of the Whangaparāoa Peninsula have previously told Stuff they felt was unfair they would have to pay a

toll on top of a regional fuel tax, when other infrastructure projects around the country weren’t tolled.

Albany ward councillors John Watson and Wayne Walker previously said public mood on tolls had shifted since the regional fuel tax was introduced in 2018, calling it ‘‘double charging’’.

Watson said the conversation within local and central government ought to move away from taxes and tolls to congestion charging instead.

Main works on the new highway are scheduled to start in October, with completion projected for late 2026.

Previously known simply as ‘‘Penlink’’, the highway was given the name O Mahurangi by mana whenua partners Ngā ti Manuhiri Settlement Trust chairman Mook Hohneck, and, Te Kawerau a Maki chairman Te Warena Taua.

It refers to the historic 90,000-acre Mahurangi Māori land block which spanned from Takapuna to Wellsford.

WAKA KOTAHI/SUPPLIED An impression of what the highway might look like on completion in 2026.