Chris Bishop: Transport Minister on the plans for the new Northland Expressway project

The Transport Minister says there's a chance the new Northland Expressway project will have a budget blowout. 

The road will go from Warkworth, east of State Highway one, and over the Brynderwyn Hills to the east of the current route, then through Whangarei.  

It's expected to take around 15 years to complete and is one of New Zealand's most expensive infrastructure projects.  

Transport Minister Chris Bishop told Mike Hosking they're doing a lot of preparation work now to make sure there aren't any slip-ups. 

He says they're working on detailed designs, consenting work, and getting the funding model right, but slippages in cost can't be ruled out. 

LISTEN ABOVE 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Bring it back home. More details in this country's design
to build stuff. We've got this morning the preferred route
for the Northland Expressway. Rather than bypassing the Brin Durwins,
we're planning to go right over the top. There's a
bill attached to that one on every ten dollars that
we will spend on infrastructure in the next twenty five
years will be consumed by this project. To loan the
Transport Minister Chris Bishop, good morning, Good morning. Given the size,

(00:21):
cost and complexity of this, what do you reckon the
chances of a massive blowout are.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
It's undoubtedly a challenging project, there's no question about that.

Speaker 3 (00:30):
The geology, the terrain, the geography.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
Every unsaware of the challenges I think around the Brin
Durwins and over the whole route. So absolutely there's a
chance that things will slip. But that's why we're doing
all a lot of work right now, so detailed design,
consenting work, getting the designations right, getting the funding model rights.
There's a lot of work going on right now to
try and avoid all that. But of course you can't.

(00:54):
You can't say that there won't be potential slippages and
cost it's a very challenging route.

Speaker 1 (00:59):
Just run us through the numbers. When's it, when's it finished,
and what's the bill.

Speaker 3 (01:03):
Don't know yet on all of those things.

Speaker 2 (01:06):
That's partly why that's that's one of the reasons why
we're doing it in stages to try and get all
that stuff right. So Walkworth to Tahna, which is the
next road, the next section from the except from the
end of the Northern Motorway right now, that will that's
in procurement, that will likely start construction towards mid to

(01:28):
late twenty twenty six, and that will take some time
to build. In terms of the Brandurwans and the rest
of the road, the Northern Expressway, we're working our way
through that and we'll have more to say once we've
got a finalized, confirmed route and once they've done. NDTA
has done a lot of work around the other designations
and the consents. So don't want to put a number
on these things now because if I give you a number,

(01:49):
we'll turn up in three years time and you're telling
me the numbers change and someone will accuse me of
misleading people.

Speaker 3 (01:54):
And I want to do that.

Speaker 1 (01:55):
Is it in my lifetime?

Speaker 3 (01:57):
Yes?

Speaker 2 (01:58):
Absolutely, Yes, the North. Think about the Whitecatto Expressway, that's
that top. You know, fifteen to twenty years to build,
start at two thousand and six. It's sort of basically done.
Now we've got the next extension to Cambridge to Peer
Tody to go. But you know that just got progressively
chunked off in stages over about a fifteen year period
and it's been transformational for the White Kaddow.

Speaker 3 (02:18):
That's what the Northern Expressway will be like.

Speaker 1 (02:20):
So no quick ges.

Speaker 3 (02:21):
It will be done on your lifetime. Good. We just
need to get on.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
And that's not because you think I'm really young, is it?

Speaker 3 (02:25):
Now?

Speaker 1 (02:26):
Listen let me I've been reading about the Ujiang Grand
Canyon Bridge.

Speaker 3 (02:29):
Do you know about that? I'm vaguely familiar with it yet.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
Right, So it opens in June. It's the world's tallest bridge.
They started building it in twenty two, they're finishing in
twenty five. How can the Chinese build the world's tallest bridge,
suspension bridge. It's a work of wonder in three years
and we can't even build a road in fifteen.

Speaker 3 (02:51):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (02:51):
Well, I am pushing NZTA and all the contractors who
work on these broads around the country to crack on
with it in an We just need to do what
we can as quickly as we can to get on
and build the infrastructure he is ill on needs.

Speaker 1 (03:05):
All right, appreciate your time. Didn't sound overly optimistic, did it,
Chris Bishop, the Transport Minister. That bridge, by the way
twenty two thousand tons trusts. Each trust is twenty two
thousand tons, which is the equivalent of three Eiffel towels.

Speaker 3 (03:17):
Look it up.

Speaker 1 (03:18):
It's spectacular. It will reduce the travel time through the
canyon from two hours to one minute. For more from
the mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to news talks. It'd
be from six am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.