TRANSPORT

SH6 Hope Bypass: Nelson/Tasman

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi · Nelson

A new four-lane SH6 bypass of Richmond on the railway-reserve designation set aside in 1964, from the Salisbury Road interchange to Three Brothers Corner. One of two South Island RoNS. The projected cost has climbed from about $500m to $1.1-1.4b, with about $250m committed for the first two stages. The alignment shown follows the published designation and is indicative. NZTA publishes the project status as Investigation, so it stays in Planning here.

Mixed signals Data: High

Delivery Confidence Score, 0 to 100, higher is better: a ranking of how strong this project's delivery signals are, not a probability. It blends eight factors, including the election risk and policy alignment shown below.

Breakdown▾

Data current as at 16 Sept 2026, when the pipeline was last checked against its source.

Key facts

Region: Nelson
Sector: Transport
Status: Planning
Estimated value: $1.1b
Indicative completion: 2032
Funding status: Part Funded
Lead organisation: NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi
Election risk: High

Election risk assessment

South Island Road of National Significance. Labour committed to the bypass during the 2026 campaign, so the remaining election exposure is the Green position against new motorway spending rather than a change of government as such. Tolling is proposed.

Government priority alignment

HIGH: South Island RoNS four-laning, a core a government economic-growth priority.

Recent changes

2026-W37Major New project added: SH6 Hope Bypass: Nelson/Tasman (Planning, $1.1b).

Chronology

2020Hope Bypass investigated under the Nelson-Tasman transport programme
2023Included in the GPS 2024 Roads of National Significance programme
2025Two-stage delivery plan confirmed; tolling signalled
2026Design contract awarded (Stantec/WSP); early works, including site clearance and property, begin
2026NZTA's July Major Transport Projects Pipeline splits the project: Stage 1 (design contract already awarded) targets mid-2027 completion, while Stage 2 moves to 'continuing more slowly' with no confirmed timeline
2026Labour leader Chris Hipkins says Labour is committed to the Hope Bypass (9 October), alongside stage one of the Nelson Hospital redevelopment
2032expectedTarget for the first two stages to be complete

Source

NZTA ↗ · Newswire / Stuff (Hope Bypass cost blowout, 2026) ↗ · RNZ (Hipkins commits to Nelson Hospital redevelopment and Hope Bypass, 9 Oct 2026) ↗

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