The NZTA's Northern Busway project will close the northbound lanes of the Northern Motorway (SH1) this weekend with an extended closure on Sunday morning to demolish the last spans of the old Onewa Road Bridge.
The demolition of the Onewa Road Bridge will close all northbound lanes of the Northern Motorway (SH1) from 8pm Saturday 6 December until 12 noon Sunday 7 December. After this time three lanes will reopen to northbound traffic until 10pm on Sunday, when all northbound lanes will again close until 5am Monday 8 December. During the closure motorists will have to exit the motorway at the Onewa Road off-ramp and re-enter at the Onewa Road on-ramp. Delays are likely, so please avoid travelling in the area if possible.
During the closure road crews will remove the remaining beams, pier and part of the foundation of the bridge to realign the northbound motorway lanes to their final position closer to the median. This will allow a northbound bus lane to be constructed on the shoulder of the motorway as the final improvement to the interchange. Landscaping to enhance the area will be completed next year.
The old bridge was found to contain asbestos and the project team have taken special precautions including isolating the work site with small two-man teams to carefully remove the asbestos before sections of the bridge are cut up and removed.
Lanes one and two of the northbound clip-ons on the Auckland Harbour Bridge will also be closed during this time for the NZTA’s project to strengthen the bridge’s box girders with 750 tonnes of steel.
The NZTA thanks motorists for their patience and co-operation while this work takes place. For more information visit www.nzta.govt.nz(external link) or call 09 368 2000.
