Minister of Transport, Chris Bishop, confirmed the Manawatū Tararua Highway will be open to traffic from June 2025.

The confirmation came on Tuesday with the understanding that the construction teams still have some work to do before the road can officially open.

Bishop said this included laying the final stages of asphalt, installing barriers, line marking and, crucially, connecting the new road to the surrounding roading network.

“I’m looking forward to the road being open, and I know local communities are too.”

The expected cost to complete the project now stands at $824.1 million for the safe and reliable link.

“Travel times will be greatly improved for both light and heavy vehicles using the new road.”

Bishop said general traffic would take between 10 to 12 minutes to drive the road, which was a significant improvement on the current 20 to 25 minute detour route in place.

“The new road will be safer and more resilient than the road it’s replacing,” Bishop said.

The new highway between Ashhurst and Woodville would replace State Highway 3 through the Manawatū Gorge, which was permanently closed in April 2017 due to landslides.

“This highway will reconnect the communities severely affected by the closure of the old road. Woodville and Ashhurst have been impacted by the closure, and I would like to acknowledge their patience and their support for the project since its inception.”

Bishop described the corridor as an important freight link between Hawke’s Bay-Wairarapa and the Manawatu-Whanganui regions.

“Having an efficient, four-lane highway, divided by a median barrier through this transport corridor, will boost economic growth for this part of the country and the rest of the North Island.”

Tararua District Councillor and mayoral hopeful Scott Gilmore described the highway as an “engineering marvel” when he and fellow councillors drove the road at the beginning of April.

He had watched the highway construction both up close and from afar and was looking forward to the road being opened for motorists.

“Literally, when I walk to my mailbox, I can see the road forming, and it sort of looks from a distance that it is almost done and ready to be opened.”

Scott Gilmore described the road as an engineering marvel.

He said they had been lucky enough to travel the highway as work progressed, but up until the start of April, it had looked and felt like a construction site.

He described the tarmac as thick and said considerations had gone into the durability of the surface to ensure minimal damage.

“It is peaceful because it is sealed and it’s quiet.”

Gilmore said a sense of excitement was building in the community despite a temporary setback with a road toll proposal that was scrapped after the district’s opposition and the mayor’s refusal to take back the maintenance of three detour routes if the region’s replacement state highway was tolled.

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.