The Otago Regional Council yesterday approved an Otago-Southland pitch to NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi for funding after raising concerns about how much might be available.
Cr Gary Kelliher said there was "a real funding crisis for just about everything across New Zealand".
"In the transport space, it seems to me we’re battling to fund just standing still," he said.
"My fear is that we sit with a bare minimum.
Cr Kelliher said Queenstown was developing and the government needed to ensure transport networks were effective.
Otago and Southland are seeking about $1.8 billion from NZTA’s state highway improvement programme for 2024-27.
There are fears both that the national funding pool is inadequate and that the lower South Island is not a priority for government money.
Cr Kate Wilson said inflationary costs were substantial and every council was looking for more money. The South Island was concerned about lack of investment and it tended to be disadvantaged by population-based funding, she said.
"It’s a fraught model and it’s not working well."
Cr Wilson chairs the Otago regional transport committee.
She described the package that had been put together as realistic, or "the best we can get at the moment".
Cr Alexa Forbes said Otago and Southland had been able to move in an agreed fashion to at least make their case well.
Council chief executive Richard Saunders said the funding environment was constrained for roading projects and more broadly.
"Despite Cyclone Gabrielle not affecting the Otago and Southland regions, the need to rebuild and repair transport infrastructure has put pressure on Crown funding and the requirement for transport specialists.
"Greater investment is required in the Otago and Southland regions to increase resilience to natural hazards."
Commenting about rail, the plan said investment in Otago and Southland was likely to be limited to maintenance and renewal work in the next three years.
It was argued upgrades to a main line rail bridge at Gore was a matter of urgency.
Outside the meeting, Dunedin city councillor Jim O’Malley said when the transport agency did not agree to funding, this meant projects either had to stop or councils had to find all the money.
An unfinished roading improvement and safety project on the Otago Peninsula was one example of Dunedin being left in the lurch.
Cr O’Malley said the transport agency would not come to the table to finish the project.
