Hamilton Southern Links

Project Update December 2025

11 December 2025

Aerial view of southwest Hamilton, which will include the western end of HSL

Hamilton Southern Links moves to pre-implementation

The Hamilton Southern Links (HSL) roading project has taken a step forward after the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) Board endorsed an Investment Case in October this year. That means the project is now moving forward to the pre-implementation phase, with $100 million allocated to complete this work.

HSL is a 32km transport network which will connect State Highway 1 (SH1) at Tamahere to State Highway 1C (SH1C) Greenwood Street and will also connect to the State Highway 3 (SH3)/State Highway 21 (SH21) roundabout.

To maintain productivity and liveability, Hamilton needs resilient, high-capacity transport infrastructure Transport Minister Chris Bishop said when announcing the investment in HSL.

“The Waikato region plays a critical role in New Zealand, generating about $36.5 billion, (or 8.8 per cent) of economic activity per year with its location making it a vital freight and distribution hub.

“By 2048, an extra 224,000 people are expected to be living in the Waikato and it’s crucial we have transport networks that can keep Hamilton and the Waikato moving,” says Mr Bishop.

Once built, HSL will support housing and economic growth in the Waikato Region, unlocking an expected 17,300 new homes and 7,100 new jobs in southern Hamilton by 2055.

The Investment Case produced by NZTA recommended delivering HSL in stages, spreading the construction and cost over time. Construction funding for HSL has not yet been confirmed, this will be subject to future investment decisions.

What is pre-implementation?

So, what does pre-implementation mean: it’s the process of getting HSL construction-ready so that it can be built when funding is made available. 

There is already a designation in place confirming the intended route of HSL, which was confirmed in 2016 and is shown in the map above. A detailed map of the designation is available from our website.

Through the investment case process, some changes were recommended to the designated design which are currently being worked through.

The proposed changes include extending the project boundary from the Greenwood Street/Kahikatea Drive intersection to the Greenwood Street/Killarney Road intersection and an alternative layout to the proposed interchange at Tamahere.   

A big part of the pre-implementation process is obtaining the necessary consents and statutory approvals to allow construction to go ahead. This involves preparing and submitting a range of reports which show how the project will be built and how we will mitigate the impact of this on neighbouring communities and the local environment.

To prepare these reports we will be out along the designation conducting detailed surveys of the environment and ground conditions, more details about that in the story below.

We also need to prepare more detailed design drawings which show how the road will look and how it will operate over the full 32km of HSL. 

Finally, we will also be continuing to acquire the necessary property to build the road as it becomes available. Since the designation was put in place in 2016, we have been buying property along the route as it comes on to the market, and this process will continue.

What we’ll be doing over the summer

Early in 2026 our consultants and contractors will be out in the field to begin the process of gathering information we need to support our application for the consents to build HSL. 

Some of these will involve ecological and environmental investigations. This includes surveying vegetation and streams and establishing whether these habitats include threatened animals such as bats and lizards, along with some bird species.

If so, our consents will need to show how we propose to manage the effects of construction on these species as well as the broader environment. 

We also conduct a range of geotechnical investigations; digging holes along the route to determine soil types and soil strength, testing for the amount of groundwater, ground movement, and carefully determining the exact location of underground services such as water pipes and electrical cables. 

In some cases, we will take samples away, in others, such as testing for water and movement, we may install monitors which will be regularly checked. 

If your property is one of those where we would like to carry out some of the investigations mentioned above, we will be in touch with plenty of notice outlining what exactly we propose to do, how we will minimise any impact from the work we’re doing on your property and who to contact for more information.

An open day for HSL held in 2011 as part of the designation process

How to keep in touch

The best way to keep up to date with what’s happening on HSL as the project develops will be through this newsletter. 

We’ll be issuing these updates every couple of months through the pre-implementation phase and if there’s any milestones or special announcements we need to share with the community, you’ll hear about them here. 

If you’ve got family, friends or anyone else who may be interested in what’s happening with Hamilton Southern Links then encourage them to head to our website, nzta.govt.nz/hsl and enter their email address in the ‘Subscribe to updates’ box. 

Also, if there’s any particular aspect of the project you’d like to know more about in these updates then send us an email to southernlinks@nzta.govt.nz and we’ll do our best to cover these where we can.

Please note that NZTA offices will be closed from 5pm on Tuesday 23 December 2025 and then reopen on Monday 5 January 2026 so if you send us a query during this time we will respond when we return. 

Have a safe and happy festive season.

Contact Us

For more information on the Hamilton Southern Links project, contact us at Southernlinks@nzta.govt.nz or visit our website, nzta.govt.nz/hsl