A 25-year-old plan to ease traffic congestion in North Canterbury’s largest town has taken a major step forward, with the Government confirming $4.5 million toward the first stages of the Rangiora Eastern Link.

The funding, approved by the New Zealand Transport Agency board, will cover 51 percent of the cost of buying the necessary land and completing detailed design work for the project. Waimakariri District Council will fund the remaining share, bringing the total for these initial stages to $8.8 million.

The finished road will add three kilometres of new roading to an existing three-kilometre stretch already built and paid for by local developers, completing a six-kilometre connection from east Rangiora through to State Highway 71 at Lineside Road.

Associate Transport Minister James Meager said the link would give Rangiora a much-needed second way in and out of town.

“The Rangiora Eastern Link is a common-sense project 25 years in the making and will be hugely significant for the town and wider North Canterbury region,” Meager said.

Southbrook Road currently carries more than 23,000 vehicles a day and is the main route into Rangiora. With around 5000 new homes expected in the area by 2048, including two major developments starting from 2028, congestion on existing roads is forecast to worsen significantly without intervention.

The new link is expected to cut travel times between Rangiora’s eastern suburbs and State Highway 1 by three to four minutes, reduce vehicles cutting through local streets, and lower traffic demand at a nearby rail level crossing, improving both safety and network resilience.

Waimakariri MP Matt Doocey said “residents have been raising with me the issue of congestion at Southbrook so it’s a real win their voices have been heard by the National Government,” Doocey said.

The NZTA board has also endorsed the council’s full business case for the project, which carries a total estimated cost of between $65.5 million and $78.8 million. The council will seek a further NZTA contribution to remaining costs once the design and land acquisition phases are complete.

Waimakariri District Council is leading the project and will set timeframes for remaining stages.