National’s $24b transport plan
National has announced funding of $24 billion for a dozen so so transport initiatives. The $24 billion is less money than the likely cost of Labour’s light rail obsession for Auckland. It’s a good reminder of the opportunity cost.
National has a good history of actually delivering what it promises. Auckland finally got a direct motorway link to the airport and a highway to the beginning of Northland. Wellington got Transmission Gully, the Kapiti Expressway and the Otaki Expressway.
The major projects National has committed to are:
- Four lanes from Whangarei to Tauranga
- Manukau to Drury highway
- Onehunga to Mt Wellington highway
- 21km of highway south of Hamilton
- Petone to Grenada link road
- Second Mt Vic tunnel
- Removal of North-South traffic from the Basin Reserve
- Auckland Rapid Transit
- Lower North Island rail upgrade
There’s a lot more in the full policy.
New Zealanders have a stark choice – a Government that wants you to spend less time in congestion, or the current Government that wants you to spend more time in congestion to try and force you out of your cars.