This page relates to the 2024-27 National Land Transport Programme.
This is the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) policy on local road connections with state highways
Date of issue: Updated June 2024 | NZTA may review and amend investment policies at any time, including in response to any changes in the Government Policy Statement on land transport.
To set out the allocation of responsibility for costs of road work involving both state highways and local roads.
State highway and motorway boundaries should be located so that boundaries of responsibility are clear and practical for all aspects, including designation, construction, renewal, maintenance and control.
Cost responsibilities for work involving both a state highway and a local road must be based on these underlying principles that costs:
Cost responsibilities shared between NZTA (for its own activities) and an approved organisation must be negotiated and agreed in writing based on these principles. These principles are numbered in order of priority.
Below are examples of specific situations where these principles have been applied. These may be complex and comprise multiple components of different situations. In cases not covered below, cost responsibilities are to be negotiated on a case-by-case basis according to the cost principles and priority order listed above.
Where a new state highway project is constructed with connections to existing local roads, all work within the final state highway reserve, including overbridges, underpasses and interchange ramps, is a state highway charge. This does not apply to work requested by an approved organisation that will be of a higher standard than (or in addition to) the work required by the state highway.
All other work is eligible for funding assistance in the approved organisation’s programme, unless otherwise negotiated.
The cost of upgrading local roads as a consequence of the new connections is a local road charge.
Where a new state highway project is constructed across an existing local road without connections between the roads, all work, including any work to adjust the local road, is a state highway charge. This does not apply to work on the local road of a higher standard than (or in addition to) the work required by the state highway.
All other work is eligible for funding assistance in the approved organisation’s programme.
Where a new local road, including roading for private developments, is connected to an existing state highway, construction of the local road, including any overpass or underpass, is a local road charge.
The cost of any access ramps is a state highway charge, except where the primary purpose of the new connection is to provide access to a private facility, in which case the owner of that facility meets the full ramp costs.
Where there is no clear distinction between the ramps and the bridge structures, for example at a directional interchange, the ramp/bridge costs are to be shared according to the proportion of ramp to bridge costs for an equivalent standard interchange with the same number of ramps.
Any associated state highway upgrading needed to cater for local traffic that is effectively crossing the state highway, such as the provision of auxiliary state highway lanes, is to be a local road charge. This is because provision for traffic crossing the state highway is deemed to be a function of the local road network.
Where a new local road is constructed across a state highway without connections to the state highway, costs cannot be charged to the state highway programme.
The work is eligible for funding assistance in the approved organisation’s programme.
Where an existing intersection between a state highway and a local road is upgraded, reconstructed or relocated, all work within the state highway reserve is a state highway charge.
Any realignment or upgrading of the local road resulting from the project is a state highway charge. We (NZTA as investor) will, however, require the approved organisation to make a financial contribution for any work that exceeds the minimum level of upgrading necessary to the project.
Where construction work is undertaken on a state highway and involves an intersection with an unsealed local road, the unsealed side road approach to the state highway must be sealed. The work is a full charge to the state highway project.
Agreement of the approved organisation must be obtained.
The maintenance of the carriageway of a local road, intersecting at grade with a state highway, is a state highway charge for a distance of 10 metres from the limit line position or to the end of the seal, whichever is the lesser.
This maintenance includes:
Highway maintenance interface management guide
The Multi-Party Funding Policy provides general information about how costs are shared between multiple organisations.
