NZ Transport Agency announces $165m transport investment for Southland

The NZ Transport Agency has announced the details of a $165m programme of investment in the Southland region's transport system over the next three years through the 2012-15 National Land Transport programme.

This programme follows the direction outlined in the Government Policy Statement on land transport funding (GPS), with a focus on creating transport solutions that will support economic growth and productivity, improve safety, provide people with a range of transport choices and deliver the best possible value for money.

The NZTA’s Regional Director for the Southern region Jim Harland, says the investment in Southland’s transport network over the next three years will be focused on maintaining the efficiency, overall resilience and safety of the region road network for road users and freight movers.

The committed and recommended investment in Southland for 2012-15 includes approximately $101M for maintaining the efficiency of local roads over this period, an increase of 6.2% over the previous three years. Indicators of the condition of Southland’s roads show they are generally at or above average, and holding relatively steady he said.

Funding for key projects to help create transport solutions for a thriving Southland includes:

• Edendale Realignment on the SH1 between Invercargill and Gore that will provide efficiency and safety improvement on the regions main freight route. The estimated construction cost of this realignment is $8.2 million.
• A broad range of safety improvements will be delivered across the region through a regular maintenance and operations and renewal programme over the next three years, along with minor improvements targeted at safety over the same period.

Mr Harland said the investment in Southland is part of a $12.28 billion investment in New Zealand’s land transport system set out in the 2012-15 National Land Transport Programme (NLTP), including $9.38 billion from the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF). The NLTP is a partnership between local authorities (who invest funding from ratepayers and prioritise activities and projects for funding) and the NZTA (which develops the programme and invests NLTF funds collected from road users through vehicle registration fees and fuel taxes).

While the 2012-15 NLTP represents a significant investment in New Zealand’s transport system, with the country facing tight economic conditions, not all proposed activities could be funded.

“We’ve been working closely with local authorities in Southland for several months to ensure that funding is carefully targeted to the areas and the activities where it is needed the most and where it will deliver the best outcomes for the greatest number of people in the region. We will continue working closely with councils as the NLTP is implemented over the next three years.” Mr Harland says. 

The preparation of the 2012-15 NLTP has been informed by 16 regional transport committees and Auckland Transport developing and submitting regional land transport programmes outlining activities to be prioritised for NLTP funding.

National and regional NLTP documents, Q&As and other information can be found on the NZTA website at www.nzta.govt.nz/nltp(external link)