Rotorua MP Todd McClay says his party will deliver on a range of local roading projects in and around Rotorua to the tune of $190 million if National is elected in October.

McClay and the National Party's transport spokesman Chris Bishop say they will get on and deliver four-laning Te Ngae Rd to the airport, complete four-laning to Ngongotaha and upgrade the Ngongataha roundabout.

McClay and Bishop were in Rotorua last week where they visited several local trucking firms and businesses along Te Ngae Rd.

They say planning will also begin on upgrades to the Tauranga Direct Rd/SH36 and for SH33 from Rotorua to the Tauranga Eastern Link and the port.

This would include substantial road straightening and widening including replacement of one-way bridges and significantly improving links between Rotorua and the Port of Tauranga.

'These are important projects that will reduce congestion, improve safety on local roads and open up Rotorua for business," Bishop says.

"They are vital to the growth of Rotorua and will create certainty for businesses to invest and create jobs."

McClay says the current upgrades to Te Ngae Rd were announced and funded by the previous National Government in 2016.

"Four-laning to the airport was promised by the previous National Government in 2017 but after three years of stalling and a $5 billion cut to state highway investment by Labour, little has progressed. We will get on and build it,” says McClay.

'With up to 40,000 trips made on Te Ngae Rd every day, one lane each way simply isn't good enough. It is slowing Rotorua down and creating uncertainty for those wanting to invest."

He says that as one of the gateways to Rotorua, congestion into Ngongataha and at the roundabout needs to be addressed urgently.

'I petitioned for both these projects at the start of the year and received thousands of responses," McClay says.

National has budgeted $190 million to deliver the Te Ngae and Ngongotaha projects. Funding will come from the party's $31 billion transport infrastructure investment package.

Te Ngae Rd. Photo/File

But Rotorua's Labour Party candidate Claire Mahon says work on Te Ngae Rd has already started and "...there were shovels in the ground to upgrade the SH5/SH36 roundabout and get work started on the first section of the SH5 Tarukenga to Ngongotahā safety improvements".

"Labour is making record investments in transport to help get New Zealand moving, grow our regions, create jobs, reduce emissions, and save lives on our roads," says Mahon.

"This work is part of our Safe Network Programme, where we're investing $1.4 billion over three years to make our roads safer, helping us prevent further serious crashes.

"On July 1, $55 million was allocated for roading improvements and infrastructure in Rotorua...This included NZTA work such as traffic lights at the intersections of Te Ngae Rd (SH30) and Basley, Wharenui and Owhata roads, as well as improvements at the Brent Rd intersection, and four-laning of Iles to Basley."

She says investment in transport infrastructure is a core part of Labour's Covid-19 economic recovery plan.

"We're turning around the underinvestment in our regional roads, and redressing the years of neglect under National. The need to improve our local transport corridors is not new — when our local MP's party was in government he oversaw years of underinvestment in this regard, and under Labour, we've seen record funding to ensure our Rotorua roads meet the needs of our growing community," says Mahon.