NZ InfraWatch
Open the live map →
East-West Link: Onehunga to Penrose
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi · Auckland
Upgrading access to the Onehunga and Penrose industrial area via SH1 and SH20, a scaled-back successor to the foreshore motorway cancelled in 2017. The investment-case cost is redacted in the RoNS documents and broader estimates run to about $4b; the figure shown is the indicative 2017 lower estimate. NZTA paused consenting and design in July 2026.
Data current as at 16 Sept 2026, when the pipeline was last checked against its source.
Key facts
- Region
- Auckland
- Sector
- Transport
- Status
- Planning
- Estimated value
- $1.8b
- Indicative completion
- 2038
- Funding status
- Part Funded
- Lead organisation
- NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi
- Election risk
- High
Election risk assessment
National Road of National Significance with an NZTA investment case, but route protection only and no construction funding. Labour cancelled the consented scheme in 2017; a government change would likely shelve it again.
Government priority alignment
HIGH: Road of National Significance, a Government Policy Statement / National Infrastructure Plan road priority.
Recent changes
- 2026-W37Major Estimated value down 80%: $9b → $1.8b.
- 2026-W37Info Owner: Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency → NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi.
Chronology
- 2017Original East-West Link (Onehunga foreshore motorway) consented, then paused
- 2023Reinstated by National as a Road of National Significance
- 2025NZTA investment case (Aug): staged Onehunga-Penrose scope, ~$3.7-4.1b, detailed planning
- 2026NZTA's July 2026 update moves East-West to the RoNS slow track: consenting, route protection and further design on the revised corridor are paused, the 2017 Notice of Requirement is being withdrawn, and pre-implementation and construction funding is uncertain with no resumption date confirmed