{"id":456991,"date":"2026-06-02T11:45:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T11:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/456991\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T11:45:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T11:45:12","slug":"budget-2026-85m-boost-for-coromandel-roads-and-bridge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/456991\/","title":{"rendered":"Budget 2026: $85m boost for Coromandel roads and bridge"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"rGEveXCr\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cWe can\u2019t stop severe weather from happening, but we can be much better prepared for it,\u201d Simpson said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"rGEveXCr\" style=\"display:none\">Thames-Coromandel District Council Mayor Peter Revell said he was \u201cabsolutely delighted\u201d at the announcement, saying it was the result of a number of visits from representatives visiting the region and how the extent of the damage \u201cobviously hit a chord\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><img  alt=\"Coromandel MP Scott Simpson said there are &quot;very little alternatives&quot; when SH25 has to close. Photo \/ Christel Yardley, Waikato Times\" class=\"article-media__image responsively-lazy\" data-test-ui=\"article-media__image\"\/>Coromandel MP Scott Simpson said there are &#8220;very little alternatives&#8221; when SH25 has to close. Photo \/ Christel Yardley, Waikato Times<\/p>\n<p class=\"rGEveXCr\" style=\"display:none\">He added while he\u2019d be \u201cvery comfortable\u201d receiving $700million down the track to boost resilience in multiple hotspot areas, such as a \u201crobust second option other than 25A\u201d, he said there is no doubt the $85 million will go far.<\/p>\n<p class=\"rGEveXCr\" style=\"display:none\">\u201c[It\u2019s] a fantastic starting point and particularly for in the summer season and long weekends &#8230; visitors, tourists, holidaymakers will notice the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img  alt=\"Finance Minister Nicola Willis said &quot;we can't stop severe weather events from happening, but we can be much better prepared for them&quot;. Photo \/ Mark Mitchell\" class=\"article-media__image responsively-lazy\" data-test-ui=\"article-media__image\"\/>Finance Minister Nicola Willis said &#8220;we can&#8217;t stop severe weather events from happening, but we can be much better prepared for them&#8221;. Photo \/ Mark Mitchell<\/p>\n<p class=\"rGEveXCr\" style=\"display:none\">In her Budget announcement on Thursday afternoon, Finance Minister Nicola Willis said the resilience building is \u201cpart of fixing the basics and building the future\u201d for New Zealand\u2019s roads while lowering costs in the long term.<\/p>\n<p class=\"rGEveXCr\" style=\"display:none\">It\u2019s a sentiment that\u2019s been a long time coming, according to Revell, who said \u201cbuilding back better\u201d was paramount to the community having confidence in their road.<\/p>\n<p class=\"rGEveXCr\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cThe resilience of the network is a concern to everybody on the peninsula, partly because communities get cut off &#8230; but also economically for tourists to have the confidence when they come to the peninsula, they can get on and off and they\u2019re not going to be killed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"rGEveXCr\" style=\"display:none\">Simpson said the investment will provide \u201creliability for the people and businesses that rely on the road every day\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"rGEveXCr\" style=\"display:none\">He added that investing in Coromandel\u2019s roads and bridges will \u201ckeep communities connected, supporting local businesses and underpinning the region\u2019s tourism economy\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"rGEveXCr\" style=\"display:none\">The tourism outreach rang true for tourism outfit Destination Hauraki Coromandel, with general manager Kylie Hawker\u2011Green labelling SH25 as the \u201clifeline\u201d for the Coromandel region.<\/p>\n<p class=\"rGEveXCr\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cReliable roads get people here. Well\u2011planned tourism infrastructure ensures their visit is positive, safe and sustainable,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"rGEveXCr\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cWe experience high visitor pressure on local infrastructure, particularly during peak seasons, and our councils and communities carry much of that cost.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"rGEveXCr\" style=\"display:none\">\u2013 LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cWe can\u2019t stop severe weather from happening, but we can be much better prepared for it,\u201d Simpson said.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":456992,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2246,176555,95,11231,1565,11357,22506,2082,111,43,139,69,20383],"class_list":["post-456991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-2246","tag-85m","tag-and","tag-boost","tag-bridge","tag-budget","tag-coromandel","tag-for","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-roads"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=456991"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456991\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/456992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}