East West Link

About this project

• East West Link overview map

  

  View a larger overview map [PDF, 286 KB]

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• Purpose
  • Improve the resilience of our strategic transport network by providing a further connection between SH1 and SH20 and improving connections to rail and freight hubs.
  • Improve travel times between the Onehunga - Penrose industrial area and State Highways 1 and 20.
  • Improve walking and cycling routes between Māngere Bridge, Onehunga and Sylvia Park and access to Ōtāhuhu.
  • Provide more reliable bus journey times between State Highway 20 and Onehunga.

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• Features
  • New transport link on northern side of the Māngere Inlet between SH20 at Onehunga and SH1 at Mt Wellington.
  • Improvements on SH1 through to Princes Street.
  • Includes connections to key local roads at Galway Street, Captain Springs Road, Rail Freight Hub, Hugo Johnston Drive and Great South Road.
  • A new walking and cycling path connecting all the way from Māngere Bridge through to Sylvia Park and completing the shared path between Māngere Bridge and Taumanu Reserve.
  • New walking and cycling connections across Ōtāhuhu Creek, improving routes between East Tamaki, Ōtāhuhu and Sylvia Park.
  • A restored coastal edge, including new headlands and wetlands to improve the natural character of this area. This will treat stormwater run-off from wider Onehunga (improving water discharging to the Harbour).
  • Constructing the road on a bund to contain leachate being discharged from the closed landfills in the area.

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• Benefits
  • More resilient and reliable connections to SH1 and SH20, improving travel times for the wider area and enabling economic efficiency for businesses, motorists and freight.
  • Providing capacity and local road access to the Onehunga Wharf which will enable its future development.
  • Creating better and more useable access for the community to the foreshore.
  • Creating a more natural coastal edge and restoring habitat for wildlife.
  • New and safer walking and cycling routes including a dedicated route from Onehunga to Sylvia Park.
  • More reliable journey times for buses travelling between Māngere Bridge and Onehunga.
  • Supporting the growing Onehunga Town Centre by removing through traffic on Neilson Street (e.g. up to 27,000 less vehicles a day on the road through the town centre).

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• April 2024 update

  By majority the Court has determined that the matter should be “remitted to the Board of Inquiry for reconsideration”. It confirms there is a consenting pathway for the East West Link project, and that the Board should reconsider that pathway in line with the majority’s guidance on assessment.

  NZTA will now take time to review the decision and consider how best to take the project forward in light of the Court’s guidance.  We will reflect on those matters together with project scope and funding options, with regard to government direction in the draft Government Policy Statement, before making any decisions about the project’s future.

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• March 2021 update

  Two appeals against the BOI’s decision were heard in the High Court in 2020. On 5 March 2021, both appeals were dismissed and the BOI’s decision to award the Resource Management Act (RMA) approvals for East West Link was upheld. 

  Subject to further appeals, the existing designation (granted in January 2018) will remain in place until the re-evaluation outcomes (outlined in more detail below) and next steps are confirmed. 

  Once the outcomes are confirmed, Waka Kotahi will review the need to retain all or parts of the current designation and the scope of the consents granted.  It is important to note that the transport challenges for the area remain and the re-evaluation aims to prioritise and address these challenges, working in collaboration with project partners. 

  Once there is a clearer path for the project, Waka Kotahi will work with key project stakeholders and the community to agree on next steps for the project.

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• March 2020 update

  The East West Link is currently being reviewed to evaluate whether it aligns with the new priorities and strategic direction set out by the Government Policy Statement on land transport. This re-evaluation is part of the Transport Agency’s overall work to take a fresh look at transport investments across the country.

  The complexity of the East West Link project and interrelationship with other regional works mean that the re-evaluation is still progressing.  Once this work has been completed, the Transport Agency will engage with key stakeholders and the community to provide more information on the project.

  Read more about the re-evaluation

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East West Link walking and cycling video