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National Land Transport Programme (NLTP): Waikato 2009–2012

The Waikato region is a key part of New Zealand’s transport network, providing important links between the sea ports of Tauranga and Auckland and the inland rail freight hub Hamilton, while a high proportion of heavy vehicles also travel through the Waikato, south to Taranaki and Wellington.

Regional summary

Overview of the transport system

Table 1: Key statistics on the Waikato region (2007/08)

  Waikato region New Zealand Region as %
of NZ
Population 380,900 4,268,500 9
Land area (km2) 25,600 275,400 9
Imports (gross tonne)1, 2 8.2 million 79.2 million 10
Exports (gross tonne)1, 2 13.3 million 73.4 million 1
Gross domestic product (GDP) ($) 10,900 million 155,400 million 7
Passenger transport - bus - boardings 3,651,000 92,777,200 4
Passenger transport - rail - boardings - 18,346,600 -
Passenger transport - ferry - boardings - 4,695,000 -
Vehicle kilometres travelled 5000 million 40,200 million 12
Fatalities 67 391 17
Serious injuries 295 2232 13
Local roads - urban all (km) 1786 17,298 10
Local roads - urban sealed (km) 1767 16,956 10
Local roads - rural all (km) 6832 65,601 10
Local roads - rural sealed (km) 4954 33,698 15
State highways - all (km) 1728 10,906 16
State highways - sealed (km) 1728 10,850 16
State highways - motorway (km) - 172 -

Notes:

  1. Indicative only - based on a ratio determined from a 2002 report on international and inter-regional freight movements.
  2. Includes both international and inter-regional freight movements.

When comparing statistics for the Waikato with those for the rest of New Zealand for the purposes of this NLTP, it's important to note that:

  • the Waikato region makes a significant contribution to the national economy. Eighteen percent of the country's export trade is produced in the Waikato
  • the region's road network provides key links between the ports of Tauranga and Auckland, and key transport routes to the Bay of Plenty, Taranaki and south to Wellington
  • road trauma is a major regional issue, with fatal and serious crashes overrepresented at 17 percent and 13 percent respectively compared to 9 percent of the national population and 12 percent of national vehicle kilometres travelled
  • the Waikato region has a varied road network servicing more than 19,000km of roads.

Roads of national significance

The Waikato Expressway is one of seven roads of national significance in New Zealand that the government has identified as requiring significant development to reduce severe congestion, improve safety and support economic growth.

The expressway will service existing and future inter-regional traffic. Regions surrounding RoNS will benefit from better routes from their regions to large cities.

The expressway will ultimately provide a continuous four-lane highway between Auckland and Cambridge that will improve safety and the reliability of journey times, and reduce severe congestion on SH1. It comprises of a series of individual projects, of which eight have yet to be completed. Design is currently underway for the Cambridge, Te Rapa, Ngaruawahia and Rangiriri Bypasses, with construction likely to start for the later three sections within the next three years - subject to land acquisition, Resource Management Act consents and funding.

The detailed design of the Longswamp to Rangiriri, Tamahere to Cambridge four-laning, Huntly and Hamilton bypass sections of the expressway are programmed to start in late 2009.

Expected expenditure in Waikato

Table 2: Expected expenditure in Waikato

Waikato 2009/12 % of total
Walking and cycling 4.4 0.5%
Transport planning 7.8 0.8%
Public transport improvements 0.6 0.1%
New & improved infrastructure for state highways 481.8 51.3%
New & improved infrastructure for local roads 73.3 7.8%
Public transport services 25.6 2.7%
Maintenance of state highways 104.3 11.1%
Renewal of state highways 96.1 10.2%
Maintenance of local roads 60.8 6.5%
Renewal of local roads 78.1 8.3%
Demand management & community programmes 5.7 0.6%
  938.4 100%

table-2-1

Note: includes R funds of $94m, C funds of $30m

State highway operations, maintenance and renewal

Maintenance activities make up a large proportion of the forecast expenditure on state highways in the Waikato region. In addition to preserving the highway network and undertaking maintenance and improvements to meet future levels of service, the NZTA proposes to:

  • undertake 236km of road resurfacing works, including 25km with low-noise surfacing
  • renew 55km of highway
  • continue improving techniques for winter highway management
  • target noise-reduction works for specific problem areas
  • improve traffic and travel demand management in east Waikato and Coromandel by upgrading signals and electronic variable message signs to provide real-time information for road users
  • implement specialist programmes to manage plants and pests along state highway reserves
  • implement planting to reduce future maintenance requirements
  • continue to implement and maintain special safety programmes in areas with poor road safety records, including identified 'black routes'
  • introduce thermal mapping of the inland network to better predict where ice will occur.

State highway improvements

The NLTP's highest-priority state highway improvements comprise the series of projects for the Waikato Expressway.

Construction is also underway for several other state highway projects, including a new two-lane replacement for the single-lane Kopu Bridge just south of Thames. Once completed, the new bridge will improve traffic capacity along SH25 to and from the Coromandel Peninsula, and reduce delays during peak holiday periods.

New bridges are also currently being constructed just north of Thames on SH25 to replace the Tararu Stream and Te Puru Stream Bridges. These projects are part of Coromandel's 'Peninsula Project', a multi-agency initiative to manage the flood risk on the Thames coast. Investigations are also underway to replace the SH26 Kirikiri Stream Bridge and the Atiamuri Bridge on SH1 between Taupo and Tokoroa, and an investigation will begin within the next three years on replacing the SH25 bridge at Waiomu.

Construction is almost complete on a 4km realignment north of Tirau, which will improve safety immediately south of the SH1/SH29 intersection at Piarere by removing a series of 14 tight curves.

Work is almost complete on upgrading the SH1/3 Ohaupo Road/Kahikatea Drive/Lorne Street intersection in Hamilton city, which will improve traffic capacity and pedestrian and cyclist facilities. Investigations are also programmed to start within the next three years to upgrade the SH1/5 intersection at Tirau and the SH1/29 intersection at Piarere.

Construction is underway north of Matamata to improve safety at the intersection of Tahuna Road and SH27 with the construction of a roundabout. Design is also ongoing to improve safety at the intersection of SH26 and SH27 at Tatuanui, just east of Morrinsville, by replacing the existing intersection with a roundabout.

Design is continuing for the Maramarua deviation on SH2. This project comprises a bypass of Maramarua township to improve road safety, provide passing opportunities and reduce holiday peak congestion. An investigation is also underway for the adjacent Kopuku realignment project.

The strategic routes for the Southern Links project south of Hamilton will also be identified and designated within three years. This project will consider the long-term transport requirements of the growing area south of Hamilton, and target congestion on SH1 and SH3 in the Hillcrest and Melville suburbs of Hamilton. In the meantime, several small intersection improvement projects are proposed for Hamilton City to relieve congestion and improve the existing network's efficiency.

Local road operations, maintenance and renewal

Operating and maintaining the local road network is a key priority for the Waikato region and the NLTP. It provides a vital link to markets, essential services and education opportunities for the 10 local authorities in the region.

The maintenance programme for the three-year period is $138.9 million. It includes:

  • the management and administration associated with operating the roading network
  • pavement maintenance, including minor repairs and patching
  • routine maintenance of the road drainage system
  • ensuring that structures such as guardrails, bridges and tunnels continue to maintain their function and integrity
  • traffic maintenance and operations including road signs, road-marking and traffic signals.

The NZTA expects organisations to manage their operations, maintenance and renewal activities including any changes in costs within their three-year approved allocation.

Local road improvements

The NLTP allocates $73.3 million to local road improvement projects across the region.

Significant local road improvement projects likely to be funded as part of the NLTP are:

  • the design of the four-laning of Wairere Drive between Pukete Road and Resolution Drive in Hamilton, and the design of the Wairere Drive extension from Crosby Road to Cobham Drive
  • various improvement projects in Hamilton City, including upgrades of the Peachgrove Road/ Hukanui Road intersection (at Davies Corner) and the Grandview Road/Avalon Drive intersection in Nawton
  • Taupo District Council's continuing construction of the East Taupo Arterial, which will remove inter-regional state highway traffic from Taupo township. The arterial is being built as a local road by Taupo District Council as part of a customised funding package negotiated with the NZTA. The current cost of the project is estimated at $110 million.

These projects will be individually assessed prior to funding being approved to verify their contribution to the GPS impacts.

Public transport operations and infrastructure improvements

There has been a substantial increase in funding for public transport services nationally across 2009-12 with an increase of 30 percent to $630 million compared with the previous three years.

Although there has been a significant increase in funding, there is an expectation that every regional authority will manage their public transport programmes efficiently and effectively within the funding allocations provided to ensure that these are delivering value for money. A challenge is to improve the effectiveness of public transport networks by extracting the maximum value from past and current investments. The NZTA is developing a national framework for a fare box policy that will assist regional authorities as part of this process.

The block funding approach to public transport programmes will provide regional authorities with the flexibility to reassign funding to cover variability in the delivery of programme activities, provided the total expenditure stays within the overall allocation.

The NLTP allocates $25.6 million to the Waikato region for the operation of public transport services, and improving infrastructure. Included in this programme is funding of the various bus networks which operate across the region, provision of the total mobility scheme and the maintenance of existing public transport infrastructure, including ticketing and real time information systems, and bus shelters.

The NLTP also allocates almost $1.5 million to improving public transport infrastructure with possible projects being an upgrade of the Hamilton Transport Centre, and providing bus priority measures on the existing road network in Hamilton.

Walking and cycling

The NLTP has allocated $4.4 million to walking and cycling projects in Waikato.

A number of walking and cycling projects are programmed for completion during the NLTP's three-year period. These include local authority projects that develop walking and cycling networks, and a number of projects the NZTA has prioritised for completion on the state highway network. The NZTA projects include:

  • providing pedestrian and cycle facilities on Kahikatea Drive and Greenwood Street in Hamilton City
  • improving pedestrian access across Cobham Drive to Hamilton Gardens in Hamilton City
  • providing cycle lanes along Massey Street in Hamilton City.

Demand management and community programmes

Funding for community programmes amounting $5.7 million is allocated in the NLTP for the Waikato region. Community programmes are delivered by the various road controlling authorises and the regional council. In addition, specific advertising campaigns are delivered in partnership by the NZTA on the state highway network.

The NZTA's primary investment focus for 2009/10 is on programmes that deliver on a relevant road safety strategy and achieve a change in travel behaviour that will reduce severe congestion in major urban areas.

In addition, for the demand management and community programmes activity class the NZTA received significantly more funding applications than in the previous year. This, together with the funding available as specified by the GPS and our targeted investment focus for this year, means a reduction on last year funding level.

The planned NZTA review of the demand management and community programme activity class will ensure that the government is getting good value for the investment it makes in these programmes. This will include undertaking a full realignment to the Road Safety to 2020 Strategy.

Through the review the NZTA will develop clear guidelines for future funding applications on what demand management and community programmes our funding will be targeted at.

Transport planning

The NLTP has allocated $7.8` million to various transport planning projects for the three year period. Transport planning has been prioritised to ensure integration between land use and the transport needs and to also ensure a strategic outlook is provided for the longer period.

Projects likely to be funded, but not limited to, include inter and intra regional freight studies, growth strategies and studies, studies which support the development of the Regional Land Transport Strategy, and activity management plans reviews.

Road policing activities

Funding from the National Land Transport Fund for New Zealand Police road policing activities in the Waikato region totals $30.609 million for 2009/10.

This includes:

  • $25.239 million for strategic policing of the 'fatal five' road safety issues (speeding, drink/drugged driving, restraints, dangerous/careless driving and high-risk drivers)
  • $4.081 million for incident and emergency management, which includes crash attendance and investigation and traffic management
  • $155,000 for road policing resolutions, which include sanctions, prosecutions and court orders
  • $1.135 million for community engagement in road policing, which includes police community services and school road safety education.

Road safety action planning is key to the success of road policing projects. As a coordinated arrangement for analysing, planning, delivering, evaluating and reporting on all local road safety activities (including road policing, community projects and engineering), it enables partners to work together to provide focus, commitment and urgency in addressing and mitigating the region's road safety risks.

More information about the Road Policing Programme and the police full-time equivalents allocated by regional area to local authorities or clusters of local authorities can be found on the New Zealand Police website: www.police.govt.nz/service/road(external link).

Regionally significant projects from 2012/13 onwards

In addition to the land transport programme for the period 2009/10 to 2011/12, also developed is a 10-year large project/activity forecast. Significant activities identified in the 10-year period are:

  • the construction of the Cambridge, Te Rapa and Ngaruawahia bypasses, which form part of the Waikato Expressway
  • the four-laning of the sections of the Waikato Expressway between Rangiriri and Long Swamp, and commencement of the four-laning of SH 1 between Hamilton and Cambridge
  • completion of the Atiamuri Bridge replacement project on SH 1 south of Tokoroa to ensure security of this strategic freight route
  • ongoing development of the Wairere Drive ring road project in Hamilton City
  • in addition to the ongoing maintenance, operations and renewal programmes each road controlling authority has, the NZTA has a comprehensive improvements programme across the wider Waikato region.

These projects/activities will all contribute to the GPS impact areas and the regional priorities for transport investment.

Last updated: 6 October 2009