The NZ Transport Agency will be making changes to the Rimu Road overbridge and on-ramp from today (Monday 1 September). The changes are for approximately eleven months to replace the overbridge, as part of progress on the SH20 Manukau Harbour Crossing project.
The NZ Transport Agency will be making changes to the Rimu Road overbridge and on-ramp from today (Monday 1 September). The changes are for approximately eleven months to replace the overbridge, as part of progress on the SH20 Manukau Harbour Crossing project.
The overbridge will be closed to through traffic travelling from Mangere Bridge village to Mahunga Drive. The alternative route for local motorists is Coronation Road and Walmsley Road.
Rimu Road between the Coronation Road roundabout and the northbound on-ramp will remain open for motorists accessing the Southwestern Motorway (SH20). Similarly, the SH20 Mahunga Drive southbound off-ramp will remain open throughout. Motorists can travel from Mahunga Drive across the overbridge to Mangere Bridge village.
The change is required so that work can start to slowly dismantle the existing overbridge piece by piece and replace it with a new overbridge which will be built one metre higher. When this first essential section is completed, work can then start to construct the new SH20 motorway lanes directly underneath the new overbridge.
“During this first phase of construction, we will be monitoring traffic on the overbridge and the on-ramp throughout the work in order to minimise disruption to the public and ensure that traffic continues to flow consistently,” says NZTA regional manager Peter Spies.
When completed in July 2009, the new Rimu Road overbridge will feature a new dedicated cycle lane in both directions, a widened footpath for pedestrians and new barriers to improve safety. The road layout will remain the same with three lanes for motorists.
During this time, temporary changes will also take place to widen the northbound on-ramp and create a new intersection and traffic island on Rimu Road. Landscaping will also take place in the area to plant a combination of native and non-native plants and trees along the approaches to the overbridge and on-ramp.
Work will also start on the northern side of Mangere Bridge at Onehunga later this year.
Full construction work on the $230M project began in April and is expected to be completed by March 2011.
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 SH20 MHX (0800 7420 649)
Contact information:
Sumi Eratne
Capital Projects Manager
Telephone: 09 368 2000
Email: sumi.eratne@nzta.govt.nz
