The Manawatū Gorge road was closed due to slips in 2017. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
A lower North Island council is facing multi-million dollar maintenance bills to keep local roads up to scratch if the new highway between Manawatū and Hawke's Bay is tolled.
The new road, Te Ahu a Turanga, is under consideration for a charge when it opens next year.
It replaces the former State Highway 3 through the Manawatū Gorge, which closed due to slips in 2017.
The Tararua District Council has obtained figures showing more than $16 million was spent on maintaining alternative routes, such as the slow and windy Saddle Road and Pahīatua Track, in the past four years.
If a toll were introduced it's expected many vehicles would keep using those alternative routes as they revert to council control - the NZ Transport Agency is picking up the maintenance tab during construction of the new road.
The council receives a subsidy of 73 cents in the dollar from the transport agency for transport costs, but even with that it could still face a bill of about $1m a year to maintain the alternative routes.
In a statement, NZTA said:
"As part of the process to hand back the maintenance and operations of both roads to the respective local authorities, NZTA will work with those authorities to ensure that the roads are handed back in the best possible condition."
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