Southland mayor Gary Tong has welcomed almost $7 million in 'extra' funding for the district's beleaguered road network.

Back in December 2020, Southland District Council asked for $99.7 million from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency to cover the first three years of a decade-long programme to fix roads, bridges and footpaths.

But in June, 2021, it was told it would likely receive $14.3 million less than that, a total of $85.4m.

Now Waka Kotahi has finalised its funding allocations nationwide, including $1.1 billion for Southland and Otago.

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And $92.3 million of it will go direct into Southland District Council's maintenance and renewals budget, reducing the budget shortfall to $7.4m for the first three years of the programme.

Tong says: "It's good news, simple as that.

"There was some angst at the time, it was frustrating, there's no doubt about that, but we got over it and recalibrated where we were going.

"To have this extra money now is absolutely brilliant."

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Due to the original funding shortfall, Tong says some priorities in the roading network had to go on the backburner.

But council staff are now working reprioritise the works programme.

"Our roading team will be bringing us a new list to sign off at governance, so we're delighted about that. We can get some stuff done, keep the roads open, and the roads are no good without a bridge."

Tong said he and other mayors around the country hope in future the timing of the final allocation can coincide with council long term planning.

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"Surely after all these years we can be all on the same page, so we're not hanging around waiting for their budget. We can do it together some how."

Council’s strategic manager transport Hartley Hare it is unlikely that the full value of the extra funding would be seen in the next six months, as the road construction season starts in October and procurement was already under way based on projects identified at the time of the Long Term Plan being adopted.

"We've missed the boat for this year for some of the work requiring more technical input," Hare said.

There was still a long way to go to get funding up to a level that would meet the renewal and maintenance needs of the district roading network, but "it’s a step in the right

direction. It will make a difference to local communities," Hare added.

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Waka Kotahi is investing $24.3 billion across New Zealand, set out in Ngā Kaupapa Huarahi o Aotearoa | 2021-24 National Land Transport Programme (NLTP).

The $1.1 billion investment planned for Otago and Southland over the next three years is a 12% increase compared to the previous NLTP, says James Caygill, Director Regional Relationships, Waka Kotahi.

"Safety is a top priority for Waka Kotahi so we will be investing $61 million in Otago and Southland during the next three years to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on the region's roads. This includes safety improvements on SH1 between Palmerston and Herbert, SH88 between Dunedin and Port Chalmers and the SH93/SH1 intersection in Mataura.

"The level of investment in road safety and essential maintenance across Otago/Southland is 71% of the total planned investment for these two regions, reflecting the importance we place on keeping all New Zealanders safe on the roads."

Some $90 million will be invested in public transport and $63 million in low-carbon walking and cycling projects. This includes funding for walking and cycling projects in Gore, Bluff Dunedin and Queenstown.