The combination of good weather and summer holidays make it an ideal time to do some of the more disruptive pieces of work.

So as you head off on your summer break spare a thought for the teams who are ramping up the pace while you’re away. They’re getting stuck in, so make sure you don’t get stuck.

If you’re staying in town, don’t be surprised if you encounter lane closures and detours.

Please pay attention to the signage and electronic message boards.

Summer is construction season

The impact on Northwestern Motorway users will continue throughout next year as works progress.

On the causeway in particular, there will be signifi cant lane shifts as traffi c is moved to new sections in stages.

There will be temporary changes to the way the lanes are laid out so picking your lane early in your journey, and sticking to it, will be the best way to navigate through safely.

‘Pick and stick’ is an easy way to remember what to do. Pick your lane and stick with it.

STAY IN LANE

Progress update November 2014

Known as the Western Ring Route, when it’s fi nished the route will provide an alternative to State Highway 1, allowing a large chunk of passenger and freight traffi c to bypass the city and making travel times more reliable.

The 48-kilometre motorway links Manukau, Auckland, Waitakere and the North Shore via State Highways 20, 16 and 18; that’s the Southwestern and Northwestern Motorways and

the Upper Harbour Highway.

Completing the Western Ring Route is a priority for the government as it has been designated one of seven Roads of National Signifi cance (RoNS), due to the contribution it will make to the growth and development of the Auckland region and New Zealand.

The works currently under way out west are some of the fi nal segments to complete the route.

SEEING THE BIGGER PICTUREThere are a number of motivators behind the improvement work happening out west at the moment The community is involved in

the project in a number of ways; landscape and urban design, cultural aspects, legacy projects, artwork and environmental reporting.

Local residents, property owners, cyclists and interest groups are regularly provided with information on construction progress and any aspects that may affect them.

The project teams welcome your feedback.

Working in partnership with the community

Looking east towards the city of Auckland, showing the signifi cant amount of work under way along the Northwestern Motorway

There are the huge volumes of earth being mounded up on the causeway; lots of construction work at Great North Rd, including those soaring fl yovers taking shape; the Waterview Tunnel burrowing beneath the suburbs from Waterview to Owairaka (as well as substantial above ground work at the southern end of the tunnels); massive reshaping of the on ramps and exits at Te Atatu and Lincoln Rd and St Lukes; and extensive roadworks to improve the existing motorways, allowing traffi c to fl ow into and out of the Waterview tunnels.

These are in fact fi ve separate contracts, being undertaken by fi ve different teams, and they’re all working together to get this vital piece of road open and working more effi ciently.

ALICE IN UNDERLANDThe Well-Connected Alliance’s massive tunnel boring machine, named Alice, has recently fi nished digging the fi rst of two, 2.4km-long tunnels. She is currently being turned around (quite a big engineering challenge in itself given her size and the tight space she has to manoeuvre in) and will shortly begin digging the second tunnel. Alice is expected to complete the Northbound tunnel by October next year.

The twin tunnels are scheduled to open to traffi c in early 2017 and will connect SH16 and SH20. Each tunnel will carry three lanes of traffi c.

LIVING NEXT DOOR TO ALICEThe causeway over the harbour to the west from Great North Rd has been sinking since it was built in the 1950s. As a result, these days it is prone to fl ooding and debris. Here, the Causeway Alliance is bringing in 400,000m3 of rock to raise the road by 1.5m, keeping it out of the reach of the sea.

As well as being higher, the causeway will be signifi cantly wider and the motorway will have a number of new lanes for traffi c, new bus priority lanes on the motorway shoulders and an improved cycleway.

GOING WESTAt the interchange with Te Atatu all fi ve ramps are being upgraded and the Te Atatu Rd overbridge is being raised and widened, with an extra lane in each direction.

Users of the Lincoln Rd interchange are already able to use the widened and realigned on ramps and exits, which are largely complete.

What remains to be fi nished is the widening of the motorway, with an extra lane in each direction between Lincoln and Te Atatu Roads, plus an extension to the cycleway from Henderson Creek to Lincoln Road.

ROOM TO MOVESH16 from St Lukes Rd to Great North Rd is also being upgraded as part of the Western Ring Route. Here, the motorway is getting an extra lane in each direction to optimise traffi c fl ows on SH16 from and to the Waterview tunnels.

St Lukes overbridge is also being replaced. A new bridge, both higher and wider, will provide an extra lane for motorists in each direction and improved facilities for walkers and cyclists.

The roadworks under way on, around, above and beside the Northwestern Motorway are extensive, and will enable more predictable travel times

WHAT’S HAPPENING OUT WEST

Wcomp

the WesRoute will

alternState Hallowing

bypass

Works under way at St Lukes interchange Tunnel borer Alice being turned so she can start digging the second tunnel

The project teams have won

several regional and national awards recognising

their contribution to engineering innovation,

customer service, environmental leadership,

safety, and value for money

Final causeway configuration by the end of 2016.

When Waterview Connection opens in 2017 things will get better for all travellers – cyclists included.

A three metre wide shared cycle/pedestrian path is being built between Waterview and Owairaka along with a number of other smaller cycling and walking routes. In fact, over 9km of new cycleway is being constructed as part of the Waterview Connection project.

Once complete cyclists will have dedicated paths all the way from the city to Lincoln Road, and from Waterview to Owairaka.

MT ALBERTRD

EDM

ON

TON

RD

POINTCHEVALIER

WATERVIEW

WAITAKERECITY

AUCKLANDCITY

KELSTON

GLENDENE

HENDERSON

LINCOLN

WESTGATE

TE ATATUPENINSULA

WESTMERE

PONSONBY

EPSOMSANDRINGHAM

THREEKINGSAVONDALE

MT ALBERT

CBD

N

BALMORAL RD

GRE

AT N

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H R

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LIN

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LN R

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GREAT NORTH RD

SWANSON RD

WAITEMATA HARBOUR

BLO

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BAY

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ROYAL RD

ROYAL ROAD INTERCHANGE

LINCOLN RD INTERCHANGE

TE ATATU RD INTERCHANGE

PATIKI RD INTERCHANGE

HENDERSO

NVA

LLEY

RD

KEY= Northwestern Upgrade (SH16)

= Waterview Connection (SH20) New Motorway

= Lincoln Road Interchange

= Lincoln Road to Westgate

RICHARDSON RD

MAIORO ST INTERCHANGE

AIRPORT

ST LUKES RD INTERCHANGE

GREAT NORTH RD INTERCHANGE

ROSEBANK RD INTERCHANGE

ROSEBANK RD

MT EDENDO

MIN

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NEW NORTH RD

ENHANCED CYCLEWAYS A key improvement this fi nal section of the Western Ring Route will provide is priority bus lanes.

This means, once open, those who use public transport to and from the city can expect more

reliable travel times.

There will be dedicated bus shoulder lanes both citybound and westbound between Great North Road and Te Atatu Rd.

Giving buses priority

THE WORK IN NUMBERS

400,000m3 of spoil removed from the tunnels so far

12,070 concrete tunnel lining segments placed

Alice is 90m long and weighs 3100 tonnes

Alice tunnels at around 100m per week, or about 8cm per minute

Dennis is 97.5m long and weighs just under 160 tonnes

Over quarter of a million plants will be planted as part of the Waterview Connection

More than 23,000 wick drains ‘planted’ on the causeway to help the fi ll settle

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When plete,

stern Ring l provide an ative to

Highway 1, g traffi c to s the city

Yellow gantry Dennis at work on the Great North Road interchange

The SH16 causeway runs alongside Motu Manawa-Pollen Island Marine Reserve.

The big challenge with raising the causeway is to place 400,000m3 of rock, with a coastline of 7.5km, within the marine reserve with as little impact on the environment as possible. Consequently, the Causeway Alliance team has had to bring its environmental protection expertise to the fore. And with great success too.

Successes include innovative design solutions resulting in a lot less earthworks and a smaller embankment

footprint; installing stormwater treatment devices that remove 80% of suspended solids (that’s road grime and heavy metals to you and me); and signifi cant weed clearing and landscaping beyond the boundaries of the project.

A number of other initiatives include:

The installation of two, 4km-long silt fences (along each side of the causeway) to protect the marine habitat from the negative impacts typically associated with constructionBiofuels are being used by, and anti-drop valves have been added to plant

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and machinery working in the marine environmentCleared vegetation has been shredded and used as mulch on siteLocal plants are being propagated for the projectBird roosts have been installedWildlife is returning to the area, with monthly avian monitoring showing bird numbers up signifi cantly from pre-establishment baseline countsPest controls have been implemented.

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Elizabeth CollinsCustomer Strategy Managerelizabeth.collins@nzta.govt.nz09 967 3167

nzta.govt.nz/wrr | facebook.com/nztaakl | twitter.com/nztaakl

Sarah PriceCommunications and Stakeholder Managersarah.price@nzta.govt.nz09 967 3182

The Western Ring Route will be substantially done by 2017 and fully completed when the Lincoln Rd to Westgate and Upper Harbour Highway upgrades are fi nished in 2021

The St Lukes to Great North Road upgrade will be completed late 2015

The Lincoln Road upgrade will be completed late 2015

The Te Atatu Interchange upgrade will be completed by December 2016

The causeway upgrade will be completed December 2016

The Waterview tunnels will open to traffi c in early 2017

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Are we there yet?

Construction with care

The speed limit through the roadworks on the Northwestern motorway is a maximum of 80kph. These lowered limits have been set for a few good reasons:

Firstly, you’re driving through a worksite – there are people hard at work just metres from your vehicle, and not all of them are sitting behind the controls of a big digger or truck.

Secondly, there are trucks, cranes, concrete mixers and other construction vehicles entering and exiting the site at various locations throughout the day (and night). They need to be able to merge in and out of traffi c safely, and a lower speed limit allows for this.

Finally, much of the motorway in the construction zone has no shoulder, and you may have noticed that the lanes, which not only regularly get moved as construction progresses, are narrower than usual. They’re still within the recommended safe width guidelines for 80kph but nevertheless don’t give much room for error, so slower is defi nitely safer.

80kph all the way

A pair of shags enjoying the morning sun along the causeway.

Inset: A seal frolics below Whau River Bridge