The NZ Transport Agency will close the north and southbound Onewa Road on-ramps to the Northern Motorway (SH1) at 10pm this Friday 12 September to put the finishing touches on a new on-ramp bridge for southbound traffic. The ramps will reopen at 5am on Monday 15 September.
The NZ Transport Agency will close the north and southbound Onewa Road on-ramps to the Northern Motorway (SH1) at 10pm this Friday 12 September to put the finishing touches on a new on-ramp bridge for southbound traffic. The ramps will reopen at 5am on Monday 15 September.
Motorists can use Esmonde Road and Northcote Road as alternative on-ramps to get on to the motorway. The Onewa Road northbound off-ramp will be unaffected. Temporary signs have been in place since 29 August to advise motorists of the detour routes to Esmonde and Northcote. Extra electronic message signs along Onewa Road were put in place yesterday.
In the event of bad weather the closure will be postponed to a later date.
A new southbound on-ramp bridge at Onewa Road and the final 890 metre section of the Northern Busway will open on Monday 15 September. The new bridge will take motorists from Onewa Road south onto the motorway towards Auckland City.
Motorists and buses have a lane each on the new bridge from the intersection of Onewa Road and Sylvan Avenue. The bus-only lane will merge into the busway before the end of the on-ramp. Citybound buses will have an uninterrupted run alongside the motorway past the Onewa Road Interchange on the new busway before rejoining traffic just ahead of the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
Steady progress on a $40 million upgrade of the Onewa Road Interchange means the new bridge and final section of the busway will open well ahead of schedule. A new southbound off-ramp bridge will open in November to take traffic from the Northern Motorway onto Onewa Road. Together the bridges will improve motorist safety and motorway access.
Upgrading the interchange started in March last year and the NZ Transport Agency has been working around live traffic to minimise disruption to motorists on the motorway and local roads. The southbound off-ramp closed in May last year to allow construction of the new bridges. The addition of separate lanes in Onewa Road for northbound and southbound traffic in March this year has already helped improve motorway access.
The upgrade is part of Stage 2 of the Northern Busway project to add 2.5 kilometres of single bus lane from Exmouth footbridge, just north of Onewa Road, to the Auckland Harbour Bridge. A 1.6 kilometre stretch of this bus lane is already open. Stage 1 of the Northern Busway opened in February this year and has been a significant contributor to the recent 4.4 percent increase in public transport across the region for the year ended 30 June 2008. The upgrade is scheduled to be finished in November.
The NZ Transport Agency says the upgrade will improve safety and access for motorists and it thanks them for their ongoing patience and cooperation while construction continues.
The upgrade also complements work planned by North Shore City Council to widen Onewa Road and extend the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane from Lake Road. Once this work is complete it will provide buses with a connection to the bus lane from the intersection with Sylvan Avenue, over the motorway to join the busway.
Better transport is a priority for the NZTA and North Shore City Council, and there is a comprehensive programme to tackle congestion, create a sustainable transport network, improve roads and provide more travel options for the region.
Download a map of the closures (PDF, 284 KB)
Contact information:
Mark Johnson
Regional Projects Manager
Telephone: 09 368 2000
Email: mark.johnson@nzta.govt.nz
