The NZ Transport Agency says a section of Auckland’s Northern Motorway (State Highway 1) will be closed for seven nights for necessary work linked to the project to widen the highway.
The closures affect only the northbound lanes between the Upper Harbour Highway/Constellation Drive and Greville Road interchanges. Southbound motorway traffic lanes remain open
The first three closures are on 28, 29 and 30 January (next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights), and the next four are on 2, 3, 4 and 5 February (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights). The closures apply from 9pm to 5 am each night.
The Transport Agency’s National Journey Manager, Kathryn Musgrave, says northbound traffic will be diverted off the motorway at the Upper Harbour Highway/Constellation Drive interchange along Paul Matthews and Bush Roads and the Albany Expressway to rejoin the motorway at Greville Road.
“We will do everything we can to keep disruptions to a minimum, but the closures are necessary so part of the Upper Harbour Highway to Greville Road northbound 3-laning project,” says Mrs Musgrave. “Our contractors need the closures to install temporary safety barriers and re-mark motorway lanes before construction to widen the motorway starts.”
The Upper Harbour Highway to Greville Road northbound 3-laning will help ease congestion at a significant bottleneck on the Northern Motorway. The project is the first to start construction as part of the Government’s accelerated programme of works to improve Auckland’s transport infrastructure.
The $19.5m project will widen a 2km-long section of the motorway and improve the Greville Road interchange, and is planned to be completed in mid-2015. It is the first part of a wider Northern Corridor programme the Transport Agency is developing to better connect Albany with the rest of the city, and beyond to the regions north and south of Auckland.
Mrs Musgrave says temporary 70 and 80kph speed restrictions will also apply to this section of the motorway during construction.
“The project will happen alongside a live motorway and the lower speeds are there for the safety of all road users and our contractors working next to a very busy highway. We appreciate the support of drivers while we make these important improvements to help ease congestion.”
