The Waikato Expressway will be extended from Cambridge to Piarare. The four-lane 16km stretch in the North Island will cost $1.8 billion.
Transport Minister Chris Bishop said the project had been talked about for years, and now the government was getting on with it.
"The Golden Triangle between Auckland, Waikato, and Tauranga is home to more than half of New Zealand's population and around 60 percent of the country's gross domestic product. This corridor is critical to New Zealand's economic growth."
Finance Minister Nicola Willis said the funding for the Road of National Significance would be sequenced and responsible.
"It's ready for investment, it's already consented, we have a really strong business case."
The project had a benefit-cost ratio of 2.7 to 3:1.
Meanwhile, $400 million package has been announced for State Highway resilience.
This included upgrades in the South Island to SH6 between Cromwell and Kingston and between Haast and Hāwea, SH94 between Milford and Te Anau and SH60 over Tākaka Hill.
In the North Island it included SH2 through the Waioweka Gorge, SH3 through the Awakino Gorge and SH25 around the Coromandel.
Bishop said the funding would allow the roads to be strengthened before they failed, rather than the government repeatedly paying to rebuild them afterwards.
KiwiRail investments
Another $1.075 billion would be spent on KiwiRail investments over the next five years. Nearly $107 million would go towards metropolitan rail upgrades.
"This reflects the fact that our nationwide rail network is degraded and requires significant maintenance," Willis said.
It would be up to KiwiRail to come to the government with the projects for approval.
Asked if it was essentially a blank cheque for KiwiRail, she replied: "absolutely not."
This story was first published on rnz.co.nz |  |
