"Most state highways are fully funded by the New Zealand Transport Agency [NZTA], so the process of how we would consider the road is not entirely clear,'' Trevor Kempton, of Dunedin, who is also an Otago regional councillor, said yesterday.
On Thursday, Transport Minister Simon Bridges said the Government would not support the proposed Haast-Hollyford Highway - a 136km private road linking the West Coast to the Milford Rd via the Hollyford Valley - unless it went through the usual transport planning processes.
That would require the project to be considered by the Otago-Southland committee on its merits, and, if there was agreement, to be included in the Southland Regional Land Transport Plan and the National Land Transport Programme.
Haast-Hollyford Highway Ltd (HHHL), headed by former Westland Mayor Durham Havill, has overseas backing for the road and Mr Havill says it would be built without public money.
Construction would be funded by user road tolls over 30 years.
Cr Kempton said each region in New Zealand was required to have a regional land transport committee to discuss and agree a three-year work programme for district roads and state highways.
Because of their similar roading issues, the Otago and Southland committees had met together for some time, with chairmanship shared between him and Environment Southland chairman Ali Timms.
However, each region still produced its own separate work programme.
Ms Timms is on leave and was could not be contacted for comment.
Cr Kempton said the funding model for the Haast-Hollyford Highway was "quite different'' to anything the committee had encountered before.
"If it came before us, we would have to stop and think about how best to handle it.''
While there would still be issues to consider, such as building a road in a national park, the impact the road would have on the existing network, economic benefits, and long-term maintenance, the committee's focus was usually on how to prioritise roading projects against available funding, he said.
Southland District councillors will discuss the highway at a meeting on Wednesday.
Council chief executive Steve Ruru has recommended councillors support the highway's inclusion in the Southland and national land transport plans.
Cr Kempton said if councillors agreed to that, the highway could be on the agenda for the next committee meeting in August.
The timing was good, he said, as the committee's current plan covered the period from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2018.
"Preliminary work on the 2019-21 plan will begin later this year or early next year, once the local body elections are over.''
The committee also had the option to move more quickly and advertise a project as a variation to the current plan, he said.
