The NZ Transport Agency will begin preparatory work on the northern (Onehunga) side of SH20 Mangere Bridge from Wednesday 1 October. The work, which will involve the establishment of two site offices, is part of progress on the SH20 Manukau Harbour Crossing project.
The NZ Transport Agency will begin preparatory work on the northern (Onehunga) side of SH20 Mangere Bridge from Wednesday 1 October. The work, which will involve the establishment of two site offices, is part of progress on the SH20 Manukau Harbour Crossing project.
Traffic barriers have been set out to provide protection for motorists and project workers in preparation for the work to be undertaken by the project team.
The initial focus of the work north of the bridge will be in the areas at either end of the northern sector between the Queenstown Road bridge and the Beachcroft Avenue footbridge adjacent to Gloucester Park. It will include the establishment of the site offices, tree clearing and the removal of topsoil. The middle section between the Onehunga waterfront and Onehunga Bay reserve and lagoon is not affected by this work.
The trees to be cleared are mostly standard motorway plantings of small trees and shrubs. Trees in the Onehunga Bay Reserve are not affected at this stage. Where possible, a number of small pohutukawa on the western side of the Queenstown Road off-ramp will be saved for later replanting.
Also as part of the preparatory work, the existing 100 kph speed limit on the motorway between Queenstown Road and the Gloucester Road interchange will be lowered to 80 kph, consistent with the motorway speed limit over the rest of the project.
Access over the Beachcroft Avenue footbridge, which is used by Onehunga High School students, will not be affected by the works.
Once the preparatory work is completed, earthworks will start towards late October and continue throughout the dry summer months until April next year. Work will also start during this period to widen the northbound motorway lanes and construct a new road surface.
"During this first phase of preparatory work on the northern side, we will be staging the work so that closures only take place overnight, in order to minimise disruption to the public and ensure that traffic on the Southwestern Motorway continues to flow well," says NZTA acting regional manager Tommy Parker.
Mr Parker says the initial work will be able to accommodate the westward shift of the motorway being called for by the Onehunga Enhancement Society. He says that following the recent meeting of the NZTA board, he will be engaging with key stakeholders to discuss the westward shift in conjunction with the development of the Onehunga foreshore improvement plan.
Full construction work on the $230M project began in April and is expected to be completed by 2011. Work is progressing on the southern (Mangere Bridge) side including installing new beams and replacing the Rimu Road overbridge and widening and creating a new intersection layout at the Rimu Road northbound on-ramp.
The project will see a new duplicate four-lane motorway bridge constructed over the Manukau Harbour between Onehunga and Mangere Bridge, alongside the original bridge built in 1983. Together, the new and existing bridges will each feature four lanes and bus shoulder lanes north towards Onehunga and south towards Mangere. As part of the upgrade, SH20 will be widened to six lanes and bus shoulder lanes between Queenstown Road and Walmsley Road.
For more information on the SH20 Manukau Harbour Crossing project, phone 0800 7420 649.
For more information please contact
Tommy Parker
Acting regional manager
T 09 368 2000
tommy.parker@nzta.govt.nz
