Motorists urged to plan ahead for St Lukes Rd westbound off-ramp closure

The NZ Transport Agency is advising motorists they won’t be able to exit Auckland’s Northwestern Motorway (SH16) westbound at St Lukes this weekend, as work continues towards completing projects which are part of the Western Ring Route.

The westbound off-ramp will be closed from 10pm Friday 4 March to 5am Monday 7 March so the existing off-ramp can be safely rebuilt and widened.

The widened off-ramp will create an extra right turning lane onto St Lukes Rd which will help reduce queues for those exiting the motorway.

Local attractions around the St Lukes Interchange including Auckland Zoo and MOTAT will be open as usual throughout the weekend, and there is an event planned at Western Springs Speedway on Saturday evening.

“We encourage drivers who usually use the westbound off-ramp or know they will be this weekend, to take the time to understand the closure and the diversions and plan their alternative route ahead of time,” says Paul Glucina, the Agency’s Acting Auckland Highway Manager.

The work is part of the upgrade of the St Lukes Interchange which is part of the greater Western Ring Route. When completed it will be an alternative north/south route to use instead of State Highway 1, linking Manukau, Auckland, Waitakere and the North Shore, improving network resilience and travel time reliability.

Detour options

If you’re coming from the South

• Exit at Greenlane, Khyber Pass Rd or Symonds St and use the local roads to get to Western Springs and St Lukes
• From Greenlane use Greenlane West, Balmoral Rd and St Lukes Rd
• From Khyber Pass Rd take the off-ramp and then New North Rd

If you’re travelling from the Port

• Exit at Alten Rd or Grafton Rd and use the local roads including Symonds St and New North Rd

If you’re travelling from the North Shore

• Exit at Shelley Beach Rd or Cook St and then use Union St, Pitt St, Karangahape Rd and Great North Rd

If you’re travelling from the West

• No closures or changes for those exiting or travelling citybound from the West

The St Lukes Road Upgrade project is jointly funded by the NZ Transport Agency and Auckland Transport and involves widening a two kilometre-long section of the Northwestern motorway and improving the motorway onramps and exits and St Lukes Road and Great North Road intersection and overbridge.   Work began in June 2014 and is due to be completed by early 2016.

For more information on the St Lukes Project, visit the website: https://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/the-western-ring-route/sh16-st-lukes-road-to-great-north-road/

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