National promises $1.75b to start Mill Road Stage One in late 2028
National would put $1.75 billion in Budget 2028 to start Mill Road Stage One in South Auckland if it leads the next government.
Transport spokesperson Chris Bishop made the promise with leader Christopher Luxon on Redoubt Road in Auckland on Sunday, 4 October. It sits inside National's Roads of National Significance programme and its Election 2026 transport offer, according to RNZ.
The funding is for Stage One only, between Manukau and Alfriston, with construction targeted for the late-2028 building season. A separate $100 million would go to route protection for Stages Two and Three, from Alfriston to Drury.
In full, Mill Road is planned as a 21.5km, four-lane corridor alongside State Highway 1 from Manukau to Drury. Stage One is the northern section. Stages Two and Three would complete the southern link to Drury.
Bishop cited New Zealand Transport Agency estimates for Stage One. He said congestion would fall by 30 percent, journey times by 25 percent, and deaths and serious injuries by more than 60 percent.
On delivery, Bishop said the Transport Agency is finishing design work and using the fast-track process to get consents, the formal approvals to build. The Budget 2028 funding would then pay for construction. The $100 million would not build the later stages. It would advance designation and property work to hold the route. Designation is the planning step that sets land aside for the road. It does not commit to a build date for Alfriston to Drury.
For context, Stage One was estimated in August at $1.75 billion to $2.05 billion, with 287 Auckland properties to be bought, according to the New Zealand Herald. An October 2025 estimate put it at $1.3 billion, and construction was previously described as able to begin as early as mid-2026. The current promise sits at the bottom of the August range and shifts the start to late 2028. It was also reported by 1News and The Post on 3 October.
The broader context here is fiscal and procedural rather than just asphalt. A Budget 2028 allocation would sit in the second full Budget of the next term, not the first. That leaves two years to settle consents, designations, contracts and property purchases before the main spend. The pressure points are consent risk under fast-track, property costs across a large urban footprint, and cost movement above $1.75 billion. If costs move towards $2.05 billion, scope, contingency or a further allocation would need to change.
