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The Western Ring Route Projects

Updated: 11 April 2013

New motorway sections will connect to existing roads creating a seamless route between Manukau city centre and Albany on the North Shore. Below is a list of the projects with more information and links to the individual project websites.

Lincoln Road Interchange on the Northwestern Motorway will be upgraded to improve congestion and motorist safety.

Under construction:

To be constructed:

Completed and open

SH16 Lincoln Road Interchange

Construction start: November 2010
Estimated completion: Early 2015
Cost: $115 million
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Key features

  • A new, improved interchange at Lincoln Road
  • New six lane bridge at Selwood Road (future-proofed for seven)
  • Widened and lengthened bus shoulders along SH16 for improved bus journey times during peak hour
  • Widening the motorway to three lanes in each direction
  • A new motorway bridge over the Henderson Creek

Benefits

  • Extra lanes to help relieve congestion on SH16
  • Wider and realigned on and off-ramps for better safety and traffic flow
  • Signalised intersections at either side of the interchange for safer movement between the motorway and local roads
  • Better access to the busy industrial area on Lincoln Road

Walking and cycling

  • A new 3m shared pedestrian/cycle path across the Selwood Road Bridge
  • A wider and better quality shared path over the Henderson Creek Bridge
  • Extension of the North-Western Cycleway between the Henderson Creek Bridge and Lincoln Road
  • Access for cyclists and pedestrians will be maintained during construction
  • For more information on the North-Wester Cycleway see Auckland Transport

Protecting the environment

  • Two new wetlands to catch and filter stormwater run-off from the motorway
  • Silt fences and sediment ponds to protect marine life and waterways during construction
  • Water carts to minimise dust from works
  • Extensive planting with native coastal species

For more information, please see the following:

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SH16 Royal Road Interchange

Construction start: TBA
Construction finish: TBA
Cost: TBA

Key features & benefits

  • Overbridge widened to improve capacity
  • Longer and safer ramps
  • Upgraded cyclist and pedestrian facilities

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SH16 Te Atatu Road Interchange

Construction start: Late 2013
Construction finish: Late 2016
Cost: $100 million

Key features & benefits

  • Enlarging and replacing all four ramps to improve safety
  • Additional lane in each direction (3 lanes each direction) to improve capacity
  • Widening Te Atatu Road bridge with an additional lane to improve capacity (3 lanes in each direction)
  • Lowering the level of the motorway to give better freight clearance beneath Te Atatu Road Bridge
  • Providing stormwater treatment

Going by bus, on foot or by cycle

  • Adding bus shoulders to SH16 for quicker bus trips during peak periods
  • Bus shoulders continue on east facing ramps to give bus priority at Te Atatu Road
  • Removal and replacement of the existing pedestrian underpass
  • Pedestrian and cyclist crossings throughout the interchange
  • Improvements to existing cycling facilities on Te Atatu Road and the Northwestern Cycleway

Urban design & the environment

  • Urban design themes will be consistent along the SH16 corridor integrating the Hobsonville motorway with the Waterview Connection
  • Landscaping and planting throughout the interchange
  • Replacement of existing Jack Colvin Park spectator seating
  • Noise walls, bunding and screen planting to minimise noise for neighbours

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SH16 St Lukes Road to Great North Road

Construction start: Early 2014
Construction finish: Late 2016
Cost: $50 million

Key features & benefits

  • Widening the motorway from three to four lanes in each direction
  • Improvements to ramps and the motorway overbridge at St Lukes Interchange
  • New alignment and layout will improve traffic travelling to and from the Waterview Tunnels and SH16
  • Additional lanes will unlock capacity on SH16, help relieve congestion and improve safety

Going on foot or by cycle

  • The Northwestern Cycleway will be retained between Great North Road and St Lukes Road interchanges

Urban design & the environment

  • Urban design themes will be consistent along the SH16 corridor integrating the Hobsonville motorway with the causeway, Waterview Connection and Central Motorway Junction
  • Landscaping and planting throughout the interchange
  • Walls and screen planting to minimise noise for neighbours
  • A permanent sedimentation pond will catch and filter stormwater runoff from the Great North Rd Interchange.

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SH16 Causeway upgrade

For more information see the SH16 Causeway upgrade project summary page.

Construction start: Early 2013
Construction finish: Early 2017

Key features

  • Widening and raising 4.5km of causeway between Whau River and Great North Road interchange
  • Monitoring of plants and wildlife in the Motu Manawa (Pollen Island) Marine Reserve
  • Upgrading the Rosebank and Patiki Interchanges
  • Adding lanes to the Northwestern Motorway to match the capacity of the Waterview Connection tunnels and provide for the future population growth
  • Improving the cycleway alongside the motorway
  • Widening and extending the bus shoulder lanes in both directions
  • Providing stormwater treatment.

Benefits

  • Raising the causeway will help to eliminate motorway flooding at especially high tides
  • More lanes to boost capacity and relieve congestion
  • Improved stormwater run-off treatment
  • Faster and more reliable bus services.

Pre-construction causeway trial

Key features

  • Starting testing work for the causeway upgrade alongside SH16 between Great North and Rosebank/Patiki Road interchanges
  • Work will trial the soil improvement methods needed to carry out the larger causeway upgrade project starting in 2013
  • Temporary causeway will be built – 50m long and 1.5m higher than existing causeway - to carry out soil tests and monitor the marine environment.

Milestones

  • Construction starts: 9 January 2012
  • Construction finishes: late 2012
  • Motorway bus shoulder lanes closed to provide construction access
  • Drilling tests and monitoring of the marine area.

Environment

  • Focus on monitoring the surrounding marine reserve, plants and wildlife
  • Minimising the impacts of building the causeway
  • Continuous testing will take place to check impacts on the environment
  • Cofferdam in place to protect work area from incoming tides

More information

  • Graphic of causeway trial (PDF, 390KB)
  • NZTA begins environmental trial for Northwest Motorway upgrade (Media statement 17 January 2011).
  • SH16 Te Atatu Interchange and Causeway upgrade projects presentation - 13 August 2012 (PDF, 4MB)
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    SH16 Westgate Pedestrian and Cycle bridge - completed

    Construction start: February 2012
    Construction finish: January 2013
    Cost: $6 million
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    Westgate Pedestrian and Cyclist bridge Westgate Pedestrian and Cyclist bridge ribbon cutting
    (Click on an image to see a larger version.)

    Bright new NZTA link improves community safety in Auckland (31 January 2013)
    Walkers and cyclists now have safer access across Auckland's busy Northwestern Motorway (State Highway 16) with the official opening today of the Westgate Pedestrian and Cycle Bridge by the NZ Transport Agency and Auckland Transport.

    Key features

    • New pedestrian and cycle bridge over the Northwestern Motorway (SH16)
    • Connects Manutewhau Walk Reserve in West Harbour to the Westgate Shopping Centre in Massey
    • The bridge is 209 metres long, 3 metres wide and curved in shape
    • Includes ramps at each end of the bridge for mobility users

    Benefits

    • Provides a safe, new route over the motorway for pedestrians, cyclists and local schoolchildren travelling to Westgate Shopping Centre from the nearby suburbs
    • Provides direct access to the shopping centre, libraries and the developing town centre
    • Features special lighting to highlight the bridge, improving safety at night

    Urban design & the environment

    • Enhancements of the reserve include landscaping and replacing old pine trees with native plants and trees
    • The bridge will be painted yellow, complementing the nearby yellow Clarks Lane Pedestrian and Cycle Bridge, also designed by Jasmax
    • Yellow LED buttons will illuminate the piers and handrail on the bridge
    • New street lights will be installed at the end of the shared pedestrian/cycle path

    Resources

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    SH20 Maioro Street Interchange

    Construction start: May 2010
    Construction finish: March 2012
    Cost: $40 million

    Key features

    • Half diamond interchange that will connect SH20 Mt Roskill Extension to the SH20 Waterview Connection
    • Maioro Street realigned and extended north to a new signalised intersection with Stoddard Road
    • Eventually the interchange will be developed into a full diamond layout with ramps for both north and southbound traffic

    Benefits

    • Design accommodates any planned expansion of SH20 in the future from four to six lanes
    • Creates a seamless connection between the existing and future Southwestern Motorway
    • Local connections and motorway access established for residents of New Windsor, Mt Roskill and Wesley

    Urban design, environment and public transport

    • Semi-permanent stormwater treatment pond collects and treats motorway runoff
    • A further section of SH20 cycleway added to take cyclists from Ernie Pinches Footbridge through to Maioro Street
    • Additional landscaping and trees throughout the interchange

     

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