SH1 Papakura to Drury

Construction update

6 March 2026

Four 50t and two 20t excavators worked in unison to bring down the Bremner Road bridge over the motorway in February.

Construction update | He pānui

Kia ora

Autumn has arrived, bringing with it shorter daylight hours and cooler temperatures. Works on the Papakura to Drury (P2D) project have been progressing well over the last month, including a significant milestone – the demolition of the Bremner Road bridge over SH1.

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.

Final cleanup in progress before the motorway was reopened following the demolition of the Bremner Road bridge.

Bremner Road bridge demolition

Last month, we demolished the Bremner Road bridge over SH1 overnight on Saturday 14 February and into Sunday morning. With special permission, we were granted a 14-hour full closure of the motorway between Papakura and Drury Interchanges from 7:30pm Saturday night. We successfully completed the job and reopened the motorway within 13 hours, before 8:30am on Sunday.

This month, we will start the construction of a large diaphragm retaining wall (aka "D-wall") on the southbound side of the motorway, immediately north of where the replacement bridge will be built. The D-wall will be up to 6m in height above ground and up to 15m below ground.

Enabling works for building the new bridge will begin this month with the main bridge construction works to begin in 2027. The new bridge itself will only take around a year to rebuild; however, we will not begin that work for around 18 months until we have completed the large D-wall and other works first. The replacement Bremner Road over SH1 is expected to open in late 2028.

SH1 south of Drury Interchange

Over the last couple of months, we have been carrying out earthworks near the bridges over the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) railway. We are also removing the redundant 1200mm water pipes following the Waikato watermain cutover covered in our February construction update.

This month, following the old pipe removal, we will backfill this area. Earthworks will also begin in March and will continue for approximately one month.

Drury Interchange

Building the replacement motorway bridge over Great South Road at Drury Interchange is well underway. Pile casings are being driven to a depth of up to 47m between the motorway and the Drury southbound off-ramp.  These works will continue until mid-year before switching to piling on the southern side of Great South Road directly opposite.

SH22 / Great South Road

Last month, we carried out pavement works on the southern side of the SH22 / Victoria Street / Mercer Street intersection. Earlier this week, we shifted the westbound traffic onto this new pavement, creating a construction work site in the central median.

Pavement works and installing traffic islands in this location begin next week in the central median. The traffic lights at this intersection are expected to be operational mid-April this year, weather permitting.

Bremner Road at Ngaakooroa Stream

Last month, we completed a temporary staging platform which will be used to install permanent piles for the new bridge over the stream. The (80T crawler) crane pictured above being used for the temporary staging platform works will also be used to install the permanent piles.

Next month, under a full shutdown of Transpower's overhead power lines, we will start piling works on the eastern side of the stream and then, in May, shift to piling works on the western side of the stream.

Slippery Creek / Otuuwairoa Stream

Last month, we continued installing ground improvements piles on the northeastern side of Slippery Creek. We also lifted in five bridge beams that will form the centre span of the deck for the new southbound motorway bridge.  Further beams will be installed in April and May to complete this bridge deck.

Northbound earthworks

Late in January, we started earthworks on the northbound side of the motorway, south of Park Estate Road. Following these earthworks, a haul road will be constructed to service the Slippery Creek / Otuuwairoa Stream bridge building worksite and team.

The haul road alignment will ultimately be where the new shared walking and cycling path between Papakura and Drury Interchanges will be built. However, the shared path will not be opened until near the end of the project because we need to use it as a haul road for our construction vehicles and equipment in the meantime. 

Community information day

Last weekend on Saturday 28 February, the P2D project team attended the first community information day this year, held at the Drury School Hall. We had a total of 163 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:

•  Why will it take so long to replace the Bremner Road bridge over SH1?

Two large retaining walls need to be built on the eastern side of the motorway before construction of the bridge can begin. A soil nail wall is already under construction immediately south of the bridge site. A "D-wall" (diaphragm retaining wall) must also be built immediately north of the bridge site and will be up to 6m in height above ground. Ground improvements works ahead of bridge building will begin soon and building the western bridge abutment will get underway later in the year. The main bridge building works will begin in 2027 and the new Bremner Road bridge over SH1 is expected to open late 2028.

• When will the traffic lights at Victoria Street / SH22 / Great South Road / Mercer Street be operational?

The traffic lights are expected to be operational in mid-April this year, weather permitting, as some activities yet to come require good weather (such as final surfacing and line marking). Following the lights becoming operational, full access (all left and right turns) will be reinstated for each leg of the intersection.

The next community information day will be held on 23 May 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 contact method listed below.

Looking ahead | E haere ake nei

During the coming months, our project works include:

• Continuing with enabling works on the northbound side of SH1, south of Park Estate Road bridge
• Continuing earthworks either side of Slippery Creek, for road widening and bridge building works
• Continuing to build a new southbound motorway bridge over Slippery Creek
• Continuing pavement building works on the southbound side of the motorway between Slippery Creek and Drury Interchange
• Commence pavement works on the northbound side of the motorway between Drury Interchange and Slippery Creek
• Continuing to build the new Bremner Road bridge over Ngaakooroa Stream
• Beginning construction of a second retaining wall (a D-wall) on the eastern side of the motorway
• Continuing earthworks in the southbound triangle gore areas at Drury Interchange
• Continuing piling works in gore between the motorway and the Drury southbound off-ramp
• Continuing underground service investigations around Drury Interchange, including on the motorway, Great South Road, SH22 and Bremner Road
• Continuing construction on the southbound 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