Prime Minister Chris Hipkins will attend the "official opening ceremony" of the Pūhoi to Warkworth motorway later this week, but the public will have to wait a few more days before actually being able to drive on the new road.
After over a year of delays, the long-awaited motorway extension will finally open this month. The new road extends the four-lane Northern Motorway 18.5km from the Johnstones Hill Tunnels in Pūhoi to Auckland's Warkworth on State Highway 1.
Dignitaries, including Hipkins and Associate Transport Minister Kiri Allan, will "mark the completion" of the road on Friday.
"There is not yet an official opening time for the motorway however this will likely be in the days following the event," a Waka Kotahi NZTA spokesperson said.
The first section of Ara Tūhono was meant to have been completed by May 2022.
Transport officials have been tight-lipped about the final opening date of the project, with NZTA refusing to confirm an opening date earlier this month, Stuff reported.
The project's price tag is an estimated $877.5 million, according to Waka Kotahi.
An additional local road will also be opened in the coming days.
Te Honohono ki Tai Road connects Matakana Road to the motorway with 1.35km of new road plus off-road pedestrian and cycling facilities.
The project has been built using a public-private partnership between Waka Kotahi and the Northern Express Group.
The confirmed completion of the road comes after ACT accused the Government of dawdling on the opening in December. Transport officials pushed back at the time, suggesting that there were additional checks to be finished.
Officials said earlier this year that the opening of the road was decided by the private consortium which built the road.
"Under the contract for this project, the timing of the road opening is decided by NX2, the private consortium which is responsible for the finance, design, construction, management and maintenance of the motorway," an NZTA spokesperson said.
"The road can only open after all of the contractually agreed safety and quality assurance requirements have been met. Building a road that meets these tests is the responsibility of NX2 and its subcontractor, Fletcher/Acciona Joint Venture."
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