Belfast to Pegasus & Woodend Bypass

More New Zealanders are choosing to make Canterbury home, drawn by affordable housing, good jobs and a great lifestyle. National is committed to supporting Christchurch and the wider region to grow.

Canterbury is the engine room of the South Island. It is home to around 695,000 people, roughly one in eight New Zealanders, and is our second-largest regional economy, generating $55.5 billion of GDP in the year to March 2025.

North Canterbury is at the forefront of that growth. The Waimakariri District has more than doubled in size since the early 1990s to around 70,000 people, making it one of the fastest-growing districts in the country.

But the roads haven’t kept up. They face long queues at peak times, a main street clogged with trucks, and a poor safety record. Under this National-led Government, the Belfast to Pegasus Motorway and Woodend Bypass is finally moving after two decades of talk, and if re-elected, the next National government will fund it and get it built.