Tauranga City Council years ago took the initiative to build Route K and tolled it, because no government funding was ever available.
In 2015 the Transport Agency provided $65m (the cost of the road) to TCC to offset them forgoing the future revenue stream of tolls when it was declared a State highway, Takitimu Drive.
It will be tolled until all Transport Agency costs are recovered, which the Agency informed Sun readers on December 22, 2022, would be in 2031.
All the revenue since 2015 has been included in the National Land Transport Fund. Tauranga road users are paying for government's reluctance to properly fund our infrastructure decades ago, while New Zealand's busiest port is so vital for the national economy.
One must ask two questions: - What would have been the cost of building Takitimu Drive in 2015 when the government finally decided to provide funds?
How much revenue has Takitimu Drive generated each year since 2015?
Jim Sherlock, Tauranga.