O Mahurangi – Penlink will form a vital transport link in north Auckland as more people live and work in Silverdale, Whangaparāoa and the Hibiscus Coast. The new two-lane road and shared walking and cycling path will provide improved travel times between Whangaparāoa and wider Auckland.
O Mahurangi – Penlink is one of the important first steps to providing people in north Auckland with real choice in the way they travel and help improve climate outcomes by providing for transport capacity and for people to travel on foot or by bike.
Substantial growth is forecast in the Whangaparāoa Peninsula, Wēiti, Orewa, Silverdale and surrounding areas. As an example, in Silverdale-Dairy Flat, around 15,000 new homes are expected to be built over the next 30 years, with 6,000 of these built over the next decade.
The two-lane transport connector will also provide transport capacity for housing developments in the area and support:
The need for a new connection to the Whangaparāoa Peninsula has a long history. The notion of a bridge across the Wēiti River or the ‘Wēiti Crossing’ connecting Stillwater to Whangaparāoa was first identified in the 1980s.
Rodney District Council considered many options and decided that a new access corridor from East Coast Road to the Whangaparāoa Peninsula was the best option to address both transport and land-use needs for the area.
The idea for the corridor, known as ‘Penlink’ (the shortened version of Peninsula Link), was followed by scheme design and work to protect the land corridor for O Mahurangi – Penlink.
The designation, construction and operational resource consents for a two-lane road were approved in 2001. The designation allows for the construction and operation of O Mahurangi – Penlink and gave the requiring authority the ability to purchase the land required for the project. While the transport need for the project was identified, the council was unable to secure funding for O Mahurangi – Penlink.
Following the establishment of Auckland Council in 2010, Auckland Transport has undertaken work on O Mahurangi – Penlink which included significant engagement and consultation with a wide range of partners, stakeholders and property owners in 2010s.
On January 2020, the Government announced O Mahurangi – Penlink as one of the NZ Upgrade Programme initiatives and appointed Waka Kotahi as the delivery agent for the project. In June 2021, the Government confirmed funding for the full delivery of the two-lane, proposed toll road with construction due to start in 2022.
In June 2022, HEB, Fulton Hogan, Aurecon and Tonkin + Taylor gathered with Waka Kotahi to formally sign an agreement, that saw the group become an alliance to construct the O Mahurangi – Penlink project.
At the alliance signing ceremony, Mana Whenua gifted the name O Mahurangi to the project. This is in recognition of the ancestress Mahurangi, a tohunga (priestess) who lived in Hawaiiki and whose powers are said to have enabled the construction of the great voyaging waka Tainui.
The following components will not be part of the O Mahurangi – Penlink project:
