A newly completed extra lane on the Southern Motorway at Ellerslie will help ease delays and improve travel times for motorists.
The NZ Transport Agency is opening the lane to traffic for the first time this weekend. (Exact dates will be determined by weather).
The work which is part of the SH1 Ellerslie Widening Project means there is now a total of four northbound lanes between the Ellerslie-Panmure Highway interchange and the Main Highway overbridge.
The $20m project which also includes the upgrade of the Ellerslie Train Station is a partnership between the NZ Transport Agency, Auckland Transport and KiwiRail.
“Regular users of this section of the motorway will have experienced the frustrating congestion around Ellerslie,” says the Transport Agency’s Highway Manager Brett Gliddon. “Now there’s an extra lane it will help ease some of those pressures as well as improving safety for traffic merging from Ellerslie-Panmure onto SH1.”
“The Southern Motorway is a key route connecting Auckland with the rest of the country and this widening project is part of the government’s overall commitment, through the Transport Agency, to deliver immediate improvements as well as planning for future growth.”
There is still some work left to do to complete the project.
The three existing lanes will be resurfaced during the week beginning February 8.
Further work to install permanent anti-distraction screens as part of a range of safety and noise mitigation measures will be carried out at night and is expected to be completed by March.
As well as the extra lanes, motorists will benefit from better electronic motorway signs and lighting.
“We have worked hard alongside KiwiRail to minimise the noise and disruption for our neighbours, the 150-thousand vehicles a day as well as trains that pass through the area, and we thank everyone for the patience and cooperation that has allowed us to complete this work with minimal disruption to traffic,” says Mr Gliddon.
For more information on the project visit the NZ Transport Agency’s website: www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/sh1-ellerslie-widening-project/(external link)
