No tolls on the new Manawatū Tararua Highway, public feedback was 90% against the proposed tolling

Summary

State Highway 3 through the Manawatū Gorge was closed in 2017 due to slips.

The new road is named Te Ahu a Turanga or the Manawatū Tararua Highway and is due to be complete in mid-2025.

The coalition government has instructed that tolling is to be considered for new roads.

Local residents oppose the toll road as they view the new road is a replacement road.

Meetings opposing the possible toll road in Dannevirke and Woodville packed out halls.

Tararua Mayor Tracey Collis is took a prominent role in the opposition movement.

Media coverage of the anti-toll road opposition and rowdy meetings was generally positive. Labour MPs attended in support of those opposed to tolling.

A large number of people responded to the consultation with NZTA.

NZTA received over 12,000 responses from the public and 22 submissions from “key stakeholder groups”.

Over 90% of the respondents did not support a toll on the Manawatū Tararua Highway.

Most “key stakeholder groups” also opposed the proposed toll. The opposition included all iwi/ hapū, health care providers, and education providers involved in the consultation. Most of the local councils, transport associations, and community & church organisations also opposed the tolling.

The only named “key stakeholder groups” who supported to toll in the consultation were South Taranaki District Council (STDC), National Road Carriers Association, and Infrastructure New Zealand.

In December 2024, the Minister of Transport announced that the Manawatū – Tararua Highway will not be a toll road (3 other new roads became toll roads in the same announcements).

“Tolling on these roads will support the ongoing cost of delivering these roads and maintaining and operating them. This will help motorists in Auckland, Tauranga, and Greater Wellington gain faster, safer, and more reliable journeys. Each of these routes retains a free, viable alternative route.

“The Government has also confirmed that tolling will not be applied to the new Manawatū – Tararua Highway, as late consultation and timing constraints mean it would not be cost-effective to implement tolling until well after the road’s completion, placing it outside the Government’s expectations for new road tolling.”

Government to enable tolling to accelerate investment in roads, Minister of Transport Simeon Brown, 13 December 2024