The new highway being built between Whangaparaoa Peninsula and State Highway 1 will be a toll road.

The O Mahurangi Penlink project is due to be completed in 2026.

Some residents believe the new highway should not be tolled while others are annoyed it is only one lane each way.

Resident Sion Stavrovski said the $3 toll during peak hours and $2 off-peak was too much.

"It's really a bit excessive I think, I thought it was going to be a dollar... maximum two," he said.

Heavy vehicles will have to pay twice that much.

Stavrovski said his wife worked in the city and the added cost of a toll would not be worth it.

The government should make the bridge two lanes each way, rather than just one, he said.

"Why don't you build it up now, properly, two lanes each way, and maybe fix it for the next 20 to 30 years, instead of finding after five years you should have built an extra lane each way."

While other residents wanted the road to be free, some seemed happy to pay the toll, saying reliable infrastructure always costs.

Albany Ward Councillor and chair of Auckland Council's Transport Committee John Watson said more consideration needed to go into charging for the road.

"By the time it comes online there might well be some proposal up for congestion charging, in my view, then, you'd be getting double whammied and motorists would be getting charged at two points," he said.

Watson said the government needed to be wary of not putting off motorists using the roads.

"They've got a very delicate balance to strike between discouraging people from actually using it because it costs them $30 dollars a week if they commute five times, that's always an option."