Cost, climate lead to roading rethink

A major multibillion-dollar Auckland roading project has been “rebalanced” after cost estimates more than doubled in a year to slash projected carbon emissions and divert funds into active transport.

Estimated costs for South Auckland’s Mill Rd project had more than doubled in a year, from $1.4 billion to $3.5b, forcing a rethink along with for the wider NZ Upgrade Programme which had also ballooned from an original $6.8b to over $12.8b.

Mill Rd, which was to be a 21.5km arterial route, was expected to provide an alternate road between Manukau and Drury, running parallel to the east of State Highway 1. It was costed originally at $1.4b, but Transport Minister Michael Wood saidyesterday this had ballooned up to $3.5b.

Manurewa-Papakura councillor Daniel Newman slammed the Government’s decision to effectively can the Mill Rd Highway, saying South Auckland residents and commuters could not trust it to commit to delivering vital transport infrastructure. Newman said using climate change as an excuse for not delivering with the deficit in Auckland’s roading network confirmed that.

“The Mill Rd project needs to be done in full. More delays will merely serve to blow out the land acquisition and construction costs even more than what we are currently seeing.”

National has also come out strongly against the Mill Rd changes, leader Judith Collins saying it will leave “South Aucklanders fighting gridlock for decades to come”.

Mill Rd is one of six projects in the upgrades programme, announced in February last year, that have been substantially changed after huge cost blowouts Wood has put down to Covid-19 and “red hot” construction industry.

At the launch of the NZ Upgrade Programme, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern denounced the former National Government for not delivering the projects during its nine years in office.

“We have modernised these projects, we are funding them and we are delivering them,” she said.

The Government has now added $1.9b to last year’s programme, with the remaining 26 projects going ahead as planned.

Construction was expected to start on Mill Rd in 2022 and be completed by 2028, the biggest project in the programme, focused almost entirely on North Island projects.

In changes announced yesterday, Wood said in light of the increased costs and climate commitments, it was important to take another look at the programme.

“Recognising the need to decarbonise our transport system, we’re rebalancing the package to increase investment in rail, public transport and walking and cycling.

“If we had proceeded with Mill Rd as originally scoped, it would have cost up to $3.5b and at peak produced six tonnes of CO2 emissions a day.

“Instead, we’ve focused on delivering important safety improvements to Mill Rd, upgrades to SH1 and rail, and new rail stations connected to public transport, walking and cycling infrastructure.”

Wood said reducing the original four-lane upgrade to two was not “shortsighted”. The biggest concerns in that area were about safety, he said, and the wider projects including extra train stations would increase sustainable transport choices.

Over two-thirds of the projects in the programme would proceed as announced, Infrastructure Minister Grant Robertson said.

“Covid-19 has increased construction costs around the world, and we’ve done the work upfront to understand the impact on NZUP projects which were announced prepandemic,” he said.

Robertson said this specific upgrades programme was focused particularly on major urban areas experiencing growth. The South Island had seen investment in other roading and rail programmes.

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said while two projects had been scaled back there were “big wins”, nearly $4b worth of projects.