Manawatū Regional Freight Ring Road
The Manawatū Regional Freight Ring Road is a key part of the Palmerston North Integrated Transport Initiative (PNITI), which consists of 70+ projects to improve our roads.
The Ring Road is a proposed transport route designed to improve how freight and heavy vehicles move around Palmerston North and the wider region. It’s part of a long-term vision for Palmerston North as the logistics and distribution hub of central New Zealand.
Key benefits of the ring road for Palmerston North
- Reduced congestion and wear on city streets by providing a purpose-built route for heavy vehicles to bypass residential areas — improving safety for everyone.
- Improve travel times for freight compared with doing nothing to the existing network, and reduce the number of vehicles travelling through the city — making the network more efficient for everyday commuters and freight operators.
- Strengthen connections between key industrial areas, Te Utanganui (the regional freight hub), and state highways, including Te Ahu a Turanga: Manawatū Tararua Highway. This will strengthen Palmerston North’s role as a major distribution hub for the central North Island.
We sought feedback on the proposed routes in 2025
As part of the project’s Indicative Business Case, we held several community expos and workshops in late-2025 to get your feedback on the long list of potential route options. More than 550 people took part in this process. Feedback will help us refine the long list of options to a shortlist, and identify a preferred option before September 2026.
The feedback that we received has been compiled into a report below.
Download the community engagement report(PDF, 21MB)
Identified short list options
Following technical assessments as well as partner, stakeholder and community feedback, we have identified a number of options for progressing to the short list. The options progressing to the short list are outlined in the table below.
| Section 1 |
Section 2 |
Section 3 |
Section 4 |
Section 5 |
| 1A existing route |
2A Campbells Road signals upgrade |
3B school bypass |
4C Hybrid Central Bridge |
5A upgrade Old West Road |
| 1D Hacketts Road |
2C Dixons Line |
3C Rongotea Road intersection improvements |
4D Akers Road Bridge |
|
| 1E grade separation of SH3 |
2E Southern grade separation bypass |
|
4E Upgrade SH56 |
|
| 1G Stoney Creek Road (zig-zag) |
|
|
|
|
These options will be combined to create a number of programme options that allow us to assess whole route options.
Longlist options
The longlist options are divided into five sections – Ashhurst, Bunnythorpe, Kairanga, Longburn, and Linton – and each has several proposed route options. You can find the maps and further information for each section below.
Find the maps and further information for each section below.
Section 1: Ashhurst to Bunnythorpe
Click on the images below to explore different route options.
Section 2: Bunnythorpe to Feilding
Click on the images below to explore different route options.
Section 3: Bunnythorpe to Kairanga
Click on the images below to explore different route options.
Section 4: Kairanga to SH57
Click on the images below to explore different route options.
Section 5: SH57 between new river crossing and Summerhill Drive
Click on the images below to explore different route options.
The ring road is currently in the indicative business case phase
The business case is the first major planning stage for the ring road. Its purpose is to establish a case for why the region needs the ring road and to identify a preferred route for the road.
This stage of the business case involves narrowing the options from a long list of potential options to a shortlist. It requires us to consider several options for possible routes to make sure we’re thinking about all the options available to us. Each shortlisted option will then be subject to more detailed analysis in a future stage of the project — including environmental, technical, cultural, and social assessments — which will be used to identify the preferred route. A separate process will look at the preferred routes in more detail to consider timeframes for delivering and how it might be delivered, for example, what sections we may want to deliver first.
The indicative business case is being developed in partnership with NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, Horizons Regional Council and Manawatū District Council to ensure that the ring road aligns with long-term planning for growth and investment across the lower North Island. It follows the Palmerston North Integrated Transport Initiative network options report, or programme business case commissioned by NZTA.
Next steps
The Ring Road is currently in the business case phase, meaning that detailed studies are underway to ensure the project is achievable and develop a plan to carry it out. Once the business case is completed, it will be reviewed by Elected Members, and if approved, the project will move into the design, consenting and construction stages.