Taranaki: The upgrade of SH43

Upgrade of the Forgotten World Highway

State Highway 43 (SH43) connects Stratford to Taumarunui and is New Zealand’s oldest heritage trail, marketed as The Forgotten World Highway. It is 150km long and has a number of changes in grade along its various sections, including a 12km unsealed section. It straddles the Taranaki and Ruapehu regions.

Urban Connection Ltd was contracted by Waka Kotahi (NZTA) to complete a Single Stage Business Case to assess the viability of upgrading SH43. We were sub-contracted by Urban Connection to assess the wider economic benefits of:

  • Sealing and associated width improvements of the 12km of unsealed highway

  • Improved resilience and level of service of the route; and

  • Improved perception of route safety

The economic benefits were predicated on additional visitor traffic as a result of the sealing (most rental cars and campervans cannot be driven on unsealed roads).

Outcome

We estimated additional economic benefits with an NPV of $39.4m.

As a result, Provincial Growth Funding of $9.6m was provided to seal the unsealed section.

Skills

  • Facilitation – workshop with regional stakeholders

  • Individual stakeholder engagement – input from extensive stakeholder interviews

  • Financial analysis – calculation of economic benefits

  • Business case development

Team