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Mill Road

24 April 2025


	Project overview Mill Road was identified as a Road of National Significance (RoNS) in the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS) 2024 and will be delivered in three stages (see the below map). Once complete, this 21.5km new state highway will deliver an efficient and reliable transport corridor better connecting Auckland’s southern and eastern suburbs to key residential, employment and freight hubs, the wider Auckland region and beyond. The designation for Stage 1 was confirmed in 2016 and will be the first stage to move into construction. As the route protection and other approvals are still required for Stages 2 and 3, these will be built later.


	Stage 1 announcement brings certainty on next steps Since last year, we’ve been revisiting the earlier designs of Stage 1 alongside the governments GPS expectations which focus on economic growth, increased resilience, safety and value for money to make key decisions about the next steps for the project. A significant milestone was reached this week with Transport Minister Chris Bishop confirming that the NZTA Board has approved the investment case of Stage 1 and the funding required to move into the design phase. Read the Minister’s press release. We know that Mill Road has a long history with the community and people want certainty on what the next steps mean for them. As we want to start construction as soon possible, we’re splitting up the delivery of Stage 1 to reflect where we can begin work sooner than others. We have recently opened a Registration of Interest (ROI) to industry for one of the first packages of technical works ready for construction starting in mid-2026. As there are some areas of Stage 1 which require more investigation and planning, these will take longer to get ready for construction. See how Stage 1 will be split up for construction.

On site with our ecologists

Over the summer, our ecologists were on site to gather the first of two years’ worth of data assessing the habitat and presence of indigenous wildlife such as birds, bats, lizards, fish and frogs.

This will give us an understanding of the stage 1 environment, helping to support the design decisions we make as well as developing suitable plans and mitigations ready for the start of construction.

To provide data on other areas where we need more information (such as underground conditions or groundwater flow paths), we’ll carry out further assessments in the coming months.

An update on Stages 2 and 3

Over the next three years, we’ll work towards route protection for Stages 2 and 3 which will include securing the designation and consents needed for construction. One of the first tasks we must complete is to ensure that the decisions previously made for these stages align with the government’s expectations and the wider context of the region as it stands today. The review and decision testing for Stages 2 and 3 is the same process which we’ve just completed for Stage 1, and we expect this to start in mid-2026.

Keeping you informed

As you’re already a subscriber to the Mill Road newsletter, we think you’ll want to receive these updates as we work towards construction for stage 1. However, if you are no longer interested in the project, you can unsubscribe at the bottom of this newsletter.


	More information

For more information on the Mill Road project, contact us at millroad@nzta.govt.nz

Visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz/mill-road

Mill Road

Project overview

Stage 1 announcement brings certainty on next steps

On site with our ecologists

An update on Stages 2 and 3

Keeping you informed

More information