The NZ Transport Agency advises that the Royal Road bridge over State Highway 16 in west Auckland will be closed most nights for four weeks from May 20, with local detours in place.
The night closures will take place on most nights from Sunday to Thursday from 8PM to 5AM. While the bridge is closed, the motorway on-ramp and off-ramp will remain open. The work is weather dependent and may be cancelled at short notice, says the Transport Agency’s Acting Senior Project Delivery Manager Karen Boyt.
“The new bridge at Royal Road has greater height clearance over the motorway than the one it replaced. The closures are to allow the road on the eastern side and the on ramp to the motorway to be built up to the same height as the bridge.”
The Makora Road intersection on the western side of the bridge has already been completed.
Once the final road seal has been laid on the bridge, the three vehicle lanes will be moved to allow construction of walking and cycling paths across the bridge. There will be an on-road cycleway and a shared path for cyclists and pedestrians which is raised and separated from the road.
The Transport Agency thanks the local community for their patience and understanding and apologises for any inconvenience while this night work is carried out.
The Royal Road Bridge, which improves safety and access to the motorway, is scheduled to be completed by August 2019.
Its construction is part of the SH16 Lincoln Road to Westgate project to improve the Northwestern motorway to support expected growth in the western suburbs and increased traffic using the Western Ring Route.
Benefits include more vehicle lanes and dedicated bus lanes to manage traffic and provide more reliable travel times. There are more walking and cycling facilities with the Northwestern cycleway extended from Lincoln Road to Westgate. The cycleway is scheduled to be completed by October 2019.
For more on the project, see https://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/the-western-ring-route/sh16-lincoln-to-westgate/(external link)
There will be signposted detours for local traffic when the Royal Road Bridge is closed between 8PM and 5AM.
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