Rangiora Eastern Link (REL) Update

If you’ve driven through Southbrook, you will know the frustration of gridlocked traffic and growing congestion.

As the District’s population continues to grow, Council needs to invest in essential infrastructure like roads to keep our residents and businesses moving, support new development, and enhance everyday life.

This congestion will spread as our District grows.

Already over 5,000 new homes are planned in East Rangiora alone. And currently, Southbrook Road carries over 23,000 vehicles per day, leading to severe congestion, safety concerns, and inefficient freight movement.

The REL project is vital for Rangiora and wider Waimakariri. It will:

Transform congestion in Southbrook by providing an alternative route for Rangiora
Unlock development opportunities, boosting local jobs and housing
Create a reliable alternative link to State Highway 1, improving safety and resilience during disruptions.

From the North, starting from Spark Lane, the REL will traverse through farmland to Boys Road and on to Marsh Road to the west of the wastewater ponds, before connecting with Lineside Road via a new dual lane roundabout. A new road link with a railway crossing will connect back into Southbrook Road from the roundabout.

Local roads in New Zealand are funded through a partnership between central and local government.

The “local share” is paid via rates, development contributions (from new housing) and Council borrowing, with the “government share” coming from NZTA via the National Land Transport Programme (NLTP).

This means that ratepayers will be funding about 25% of the total cost of the project.

When we last engaged in the 2024 Long Term Plan residents supported the development of the REL road for these reasons.

Last year the REL and supporting eastern projects were given a Stage 1 endorsement from the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission, Te Waihanga.

In its independent assessment released in December, the Commission recognised the significance in tackling congestion, improving safety, and unlocking future growth in the east of the Waimakariri District. It endorsed addressing these issues as a priority problem for New Zealand.

While the Commission’s endorsement doesn’t guarantee NLTP funding, and requires additional steps before considering the project investment ready, it adds considerable weight to the Council’s case when it bids for construction co-funding in the next NLTP.

Staff have been progressing the project, and the Council is close to completing the Business Case and design. Because of this we now have a much better understanding of what the project is likely to cost than three years ago.

We have done value engineering and now expect the total cost of the road to be approximately $65m––higher than the initial estimate of $37.9m.

This adjustment reflects real-world factors like inflation, materials, and engineering considerations.

While, NZTA have not yet approved the construction funding of the project, it is important our community get to see updates and new considerations as they happen and can comment on the changes.

Because of this, the change in cost is not yet included in the rates rise this year. If the project achieves co-funding from NZTA, next year would see the process commencing to get things ready for construction in 2028.

Although it would not affect rates until the following year, Council intends to include $5.6 million to cover design, property, and other costs in this Annual Plan if commitment from the government is secured.

For ratepayers, the revised cost would deliver a connector road that would reduce congestion, improve travel times, enable development, and increase the resilience of our transport network.

The cost works out to be less than 70c a week per household - which you would easily burn in fuel sitting in traffic. The REL is critical infrastructure, and an investment in our District.

To defer construction will only see costs increase and given the financial impact on ratepayers remains low, the view of the Council is that the project should proceed.

The Council’s Long Term Plan currently shows the project being delivered in 2028 and 2029. This is subject to receiving funding from the Government’s NLTP, which may mean the work is brought forward or delayed depending on funding availability.

To find out more and stay up-to-date on this project visit - https://www.waimakariri.govt.nz/council/major-projects/council-projects/rangiora-eastern-link