NZ InfraWatch
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East-West Link — Auckland (SH20 to SH1)
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency · Auckland
Proposed 7km expressway corridor connecting SH20 (near Auckland Airport) to SH1 at Sylvia Park/Mt Wellington, linking southwest and southeast Auckland. Estimated cost has ranged from $5.4B to $14.7B depending on scope. National's #1 Roads of National Significance project for Auckland. 2024–27 NLTP includes investigation funding. No business case approved.
Key facts
- Region
- Auckland
- Sector
- Transport
- Status
- Planning
- Estimated value
- $9b
- Indicative completion
- 2038
- Funding status
- No Source
- Lead organisation
- Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency
- Election risk
- Extreme
Election risk assessment
National's top RoNS priority in Auckland — connecting SH20 at Māngere to SH1 at Mt Wellington via the Manukau Harbour. No consent, no funding committed. Labour and Greens strongly opposed due to cost and induced demand concerns. NLTF 2024–27 programme lists it for investigation.
Government priority alignment
HIGH — Auckland's top-priority Road of National Significance — a GPS flagship project.
Chronology
- 2007East-West Link first proposed in Auckland transport studies — connecting SH20 to SH1
- 2016National declares East-West Link a Roads of National Significance. Route designation begins
- 2018Preferred option selected; estimated cost $1.85B (subsequently revised upward dramatically)
- 2021Labour removes East-West Link from programme. Route designation retained but funding cut
- 2023National reinstates East-West Link as Auckland's top RoNS priority
- 2024NLTP 2024–27 allocates investigation funding. Cost now estimated at up to $9B+
- 2038Aspirational target — no consent, no committed funding