SH1 Papakura to Drury

Construction update

5 December 2025

A site-wide 'toolbox' meeting was held last week at the Papakura Club in preparation for the run-up to our summer shutdown, from 19 December 2025 to 5 January 2026.

Construction update | He pānui

Kia ora

Longer daylight hours and more settled weather have set the stage for a successful summer construction season. With the holiday season fast approaching, we've had another good month.

Read on for progress updates across the project length over the last month. Please get in touch if you have any queries about the works shown in this issue or any other aspect of the P2D project – our contact details are shown at the end of this update. 

Slippery Creek / Otuuwairoa Stream

Last month, we continued installing ground improvement piles on the southbound (eastern) side of SH1, north of Slippery Creek. These piles will strengthen the ground for the new wider motorway alignment, with three lanes in each direction.

On the north-eastern side of the stream, we have also been installing permanent bridge piles in the stream itself. In addition to being higher and wider, the new bridges we'll build over Slippery Creek will be supported by fewer piles than the existing bridges (which will ultimately be dismantled and removed).

Bremner Road at Ngaakooroa Stream

With the temporary steel truss bridge over Ngaakooroa Stream now in use, we have lifted out the pedestrian bridge and started to dismantle the existing road bridge. The photo above shows asphalt has been milled off to expose the old bridge's concrete beams. Dismantling and demolishing the bridge is being done in stages. Following this, we will start building a new higher and wider bridge over the stream.

Drury Interchange

Our works at Drury Interchange are focused on the two southbound triangle gore areas in preparation for building the abutments and piers for the new SH1 motorway bridge over Great South Road. In the gore between the motorway and the Drury southbound off-ramp, we have excavated and removed ~20,000m3 of material and have begun building up pavement layers, as shown in the photo below.

In the gore bordering the Drury southbound on-ramp, we are removing material before building up the new pavement and beginning bridge piling.

SH22 / Great South Road

Last month, we resumed rebuilding the southern side of SH22 west of Drury Interchange, carrying out embankment and pavement works as shown in the photo above. This month we will continue with pavement construction and underground utility service works in this same area in preparation for the new traffic lights. The new traffic lights are planned to 'go live' in March 2026.

While most of this stage of works will be built during the day, occasional night works will be required for safety reasons where our activities are too close to the traffic lanes.

SH1 south of Drury Interchange

Last month, we installed new stormwater outflow pipes along the southbound side of the motorway, south of Drury Interchange as shown in the photo above. This month, we will continue installing new stormwater pipes and shaping the swale drains for the runoff from the motorway. A major environmental improvement of the project is that all stormwater runoff from the motorway will be treated before it can enter local waterways (which wasn't required when the motorway was first built).

Community information day FAQs

On Saturday 29 November, the P2D project team attended the last community information day this year, held at the Drury School Hall. We had a total of 170 visitors through the door, all interested to learn about various projects underway in the area.

Some frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the day for the Papakura to Drury project team were:

• When will construction start for the cycleway / shared use path and will it be on both sides of the motorway?

The shared use path will be built on the western side of the motorway with connection points at Drury Interchange, Bremner Road, Park Estate Road and Papakura Interchange.  Construction will start in 2026 - however the alignment for the path will initially be used as a haul road (similar to that currently seen north of Bremner Road and south of Slippery Creek).

• What is the project completion date?

This stage of the project is expected to be completed in August 2030.  As part of this stage of the project, we are widening ~3.3km of SH1 from the BP motorway service centre to the south side of Drury Interchange.  We are also relocating and lifting Drury Interchange, building five new bridges and a number of large retaining walls, and building the shared use path.

• How long will it take to build the new Bremner Road bridge over Ngaakooroa Stream?

Building a new bridge over Ngaakooroa Stream will take up to 2½ years following the removal of the existing bridge. Transpower high voltage lines supplying the Auckland region are located directly above this site, placing significant constraints on how this bridge can be built.  Building over a tidal stream is also a constraint requiring special care.  We are now dismantling the old bridge, which we expect to complete early next year before starting to build the new (higher and wider) bridge.

• When will the Bremner Road bridge over the motorway be demolished?

We are planning to demolish the existing Bremner Road bridge over SH1 in February 2026 during an extended 14-hour closure (from 7pm Saturday night to 9am Sunday morning) of the motorway between Papakura and Drury.
Rebuilding the new overbridge will take 3 years.  Throughout bridge construction, two motorway lanes in each direction will be maintained during the day requiring a series of traffic lane shifts. Working next to live traffic limits the works that can be carried out during the day.  A soil nail retaining wall is currently being built on the southern side of this site and a significant D-wall (retaining wall) will be built immediately to the north during bridge construction, adding to the complexity of this build.

The next community information day will be held on 28 February at the Drury School Hall (23-33 Young Crescent, Drury) from 10am to 1pm.

In the meantime, if you have any queries about this update or the P2D project in general, please do not hesitate to contact us by replying to this e-newsletter or using another method listed in the "Contact us" section below.

Stakeholder Survey

Our six-monthly stakeholder survey is underway and closes on Monday 8 December. This survey is about how we engage with you as a community member, not about construction.

If you would like to participate, the survey is anonymous and takes around five minutes to complete. Click this link to fill in the survey or scan the QR code below.

Looking ahead | E haere ake nei

During the coming months, our project works include:

• Continuing with enabling works on the northbound (west) side of SH1, south of Park Estate Road bridge
• Continuing earthworks either side of Slippery Creek in preparation for road widening and bridge building works
• Continuing to build a new southbound motorway bridge over Slippery Creek
• Continuing pavement building works in the central motorway median between Slippery Creek and Drury Interchange
• Continuing to dismantle and demolish the Bremner Road bridge over Ngaakooroa Stream
• Demolishing the Bremner Road bridge over SH1 (planned in February)
• Continuing to install soil nails on the southbound side of the motorway north of Drury Interchange
• Continuing earthworks in the triangle gore areas between the motorway and the Drury southbound off and on-ramps
• Continuing underground service investigations around Drury Interchange, including on the motorway, Great South Road, SH22, Bremner Road, and Mercer Street
• Continuing construction on the eastern side of the motorway between Drury Interchange and the Quarry Road overbridge.

Contact us | Whakapā mai

For further information regarding the project, please contact our team:

• P: 0800 796 796
• E: p2b@nzta.govt.nz
• W: www.nzta.govt.nz/p2b

We thank you in advance for your patience during these important motorway upgrades.

Kind regards | Ngā mihi
The SH1 Papakura to Drury team