It's one of New Zealand's most highly-anticipated stretches of road, and with all things going well, it looks like we should see the Waikato Expressway completed within the year.
While NZTA has remained tight-lipped about specific dates (due to safety reasons) we can safely assume that it will be completed in late 2021, with the first cars travelling on it in early 2022.
The 22km Hamilton section, including the complex Southern Interchange at Tamahere, is now starting to take shape. It's not just blacktop - half a million plants will go into the area, including more than 370,000 in winter.
The Waikato Expressway is the key strategic corridor for the Waikato region; when complete it will run 102km from the Bombay Hills to south of Cambridge.
It's claimed that once completed, the new road will reduce travel times between Auckland and Tirau by up to 35 minutes.
The Expressway will improve economic growth and productivity for New Zealand’s upper North Island through more efficient movement of people and freight.
It's also hoped that the Expressway will reduce crashes, increase traffic capacity, take congestion away from communities like Huntly, Ngaruawahia and Cambridge, reduce fuel costs for motorists and contribute to economic growth.
The Waikato Expressway project is one of seven current roads of national significance, and part of the Government’s National Infrastructure Plan. The focus is on moving people and freight between and within the country’s five largest population centres more safely and efficiently.