A new Northland Expressway will cut 38 minutes off the drive between Auckland’s Te Hana and Whangārei, according to a recently approved investment case.

The new road will also reduce deaths and serious injuries on State Highway 1 by 66%.

The NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) board has endorsed the investment case for the Te Hana to Whangārei expressway. The Government is funding $187 million to progress design, consent and route protection.

Priority will be given to an alternative to the Brynderwyn Hills, due to the vulnerability of this route to weather and closures from slips.

Designing, consenting and building the route is expected to cost between $15.3 billion and $18.3b, with tolls likely to help construction and maintenance.

Northland MP, National’s Grant McCallum, said the investment case endorsement was a significant step forward.

“It endorses what the people of Northland have known for years: that this road is very much worth building from an economic standpoint, a safety standpoint and resilience improvements.”

A cost-to-benefit analysis found the expressway would have a benefit of $1.40 for every dollar spent, McCallum said.

“It shows it has a positive outcome for Northland, taking into account all of those factors - road safety, time of travel and resilience.”

The next step is for NZTA to conduct geotechnical tests and start engaging with landowners whose property is on the preferred route, he said.

McCallum, whose family farm was on an earlier route proposed for the expressway, said he empathised with those impacted.

He advised landowners to engage constructively with NZTA and to get good legal advice at the appropriate time.

“I absolutely do [have sympathy]. It creates uncertainty and the most important thing that anybody wants is certainty.”

The $187m fund will allow for the route to be designated, which would provide certainty about the route, as well as allowing for some property to be bought, McCallum said.

His property, west of the Brynderwyns, was considered as an alternative route before Cyclone Gabrielle exposed a large amount of land movement in the area, he said.

McCallum said he was not involved in any decisions about the route.

Expressway ‘game-changer’, Shane Reti says

Whangārei MP, National’s Dr Shane Reti, said the Northland Expressway “will bring Northland closer to the rest of the country, boosting economic growth and creating job opportunities”.

The local MPs echoed comments by Transport Minister Chris Bishop, who announced the progress as part of an update about Roads of National Significance on Monday evening.

Ongoing closures of the Brynderwyn Hills in 2024 has meant this section of the expressway is being prioritised. Photo / NZME

“The Northland Expressway represents a transformational opportunity to boost jobs and growth in a region rich with potential,” he said.

A report commissioned by the Northland Corporate Group in 2024 found the Northland Expressway would grow Northland’s GDP by $2.1b a year and New Zealand’s GDP by $1.2b a year.

Regional economic development agency Northland Inc chief executive Paul Linton was supportive of the “vital corridor” taking a major step forward, saying it would give Northland the infrastructure to match its potential.

“For too long, Northland’s growth and resilience have been held back by a highway that all too often stops us in our tracks,” he commented on social media.

Work to start on first stage in 2026

NZTA will be writing to owners whose property is within the study area for the preferred route, and will meet with affected landowners between late-2025 and mid-2026.

It plans to lodge a Notice of Requirement - the legal process to designate a route - for the Brynderwyn Hills alternative, and lodge all other statutory approvals, by mid-2026.

The Notice of Requirement for the rest of the route will be lodged by the end of 2026.

Meanwhile, the first stage of the Northland Expressway - Ara Tūhono Warkworth to Te Hana - is well under way with procurement started for a public-private partnership.

Building of the first stage is expected to start in late 2026 but McCallum said the work will take six or seven years to finish.

Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.