SH1 Papakura to Drury

Construction update

3 May 2024

Construction update | He pānui

Kia ora

With the increasing wind and rain, it feels like autumn is really settling in and we're getting prepared for winter.  Last month was a big one for the project team, with crews laying massive amounts of asphalt - both on the southbound and northbound sides of the motorway.  Getting this pavement down was critical to allow us to shift the two northbound lanes across to the west, meaning they are no longer separated by the central median barrier.

On the southbound side, north of Papakura Interchange, the team also completed the realignment of the start of the southbound off-ramp, with motorists now driving on the final pavement.

Looking ahead, next week will see the opening of the new Papakura (Beach Road) southbound on-ramp.  Crews have been working hard day and night to complete final works prior to opening this new on-ramp.  Read on for more details.

During May and June, installing the stormwater box culverts in the central median will be one of the key tasks being carried out by the construction team.  More on this in next month's update.

First layer of asphalt laid for the new southbound on-ramp.

Beach Road update | Pānui ki Beach Road

Our crew has been working around the clock to get the new Papakura (Beach Road) southbound on-ramp ready to open next week – from 5am on Tuesday morning.  It's a big moment and the result of a lot of hard mahi by the Beach Road crews!

Here's a glimpse of what went into building this new on-ramp, we:

• laid down 1,000 tonnes of asphalt
• poured 350 cubic metres (840 tonnes) of concrete
• installed 3.7 kilometres of ducting for upgraded services
• planted 9,000 plants
• used 12,800 tonnes of aggregate to build up the on-ramp to tie-in with the height of Beach Road - raising it by up to 4 metres from the original ground level.

The new Beach Road southbound on-ramp will be used by motorists approaching from the eastern (Papakura) side and wanting to head south on the motorway.  The current right-hand turn from Beach Road onto the southbound loop on-ramp will be closed permanently.

The existing southbound loop on-ramp will continue to be used by southbound motorists approaching from the western (Karaka) side.  

Great news for the community has been the reopening of the left-turn lane from Chichester Drive onto Beach Road early last week.  Rosehill drivers had been missing their free left-turn lane at the lights while the space was needed for our construction works, so its reopening has been a big win for them!

This month, the crew will shift their focus to Beach Road itself, breaking out some of the central concrete islands before rebuilding them in their final new locations, and laying a final layer of asphalt along Beach Road starting in October/November as far as the Elliot Street/Chichester Drive intersection.

Final asphalt laid before switching traffic onto the new alignment of the Papakura southbound off-ramp.

Southbound works update | He pānui ki ngā rori ki te tonga

In more good news, our crews have just wrapped up all the paving work for realigning the Papakura southbound off-ramp, which is needed to make room for the new (third) southbound lane that will extend through Papakura Interchange.  Southbound motorists getting off at Papakura are now driving on the final pavement, though the full and final layout for the extra lane isn't quite there yet.  We're continuing to build the third lane as it goes underneath the Beach Road overbridge.

Earlier this week the crew were setting up more temporary steel barriers to keep things safe while the crew focus on building the extra southbound lane under the overbridge.

This month, the crew will be busy over the section of the motorway north of the Papakura Interchange - installing streetlights, slip-forming concrete barriers, back-filling aggregate between concrete barriers, saw-cutting asphalt, removing existing asphalt and laying new asphalt.

Looking north from Park Estate Road bridge with the new traffic layout in place.

Northbound works update | He pānui ki ngā rori ki te raki

After a huge month of asphalt paving, on 22 April our crews successfully moved the two northbound lanes on the motorway across to the west into the Phase 4 traffic layout.  This means the two northbound lanes are no longer separated by the big central median barrier between the BP motorway service centre and Papakura Interchange, as they had been since September last year.

This shift to the west has created new working space in the middle of the motorway, meaning we can get started on installing the next stage of three stormwater box culverts crossing under the motorway.

This northbound traffic shift also allowed us to finalise the realignment of the Papakura northbound loop on-ramp.  This on-ramp used to begin a new third lane starting from Papakura and continuing northwards, but the on-ramp now merges directly onto the existing northbound lanes.  This is how the loop on-ramp will stay even after we open all three lanes as part of the Papakura to Drury project Stage 1A.

More great news for the community is that both lanes going 'around the loop' on the northbound on-ramp have also been reinstated, which returns its capacity back to normal.

Latest photos from site | Ngā pikitia

We are working across the site, with lots of pavement and asphalt works; subsoil drainage works; and installing and future-proofing utility services.

Looking ahead | E haere ake nei

During the coming months, our project works include:

• Continuing to build pavement for road widening on the northbound side of the motorway, north of Papakura Interchange
• Continuing drainage and pavement works on Beach Road
• Installing box culvert sections in the central median of the motorway
• Final surfacing work (asphalting) on both northbound and southbound sides of the motorway, starting in October/November.

Contact us | Whakapā mai

For further information regarding the project please contact our team:

P: 0800 796 796 or text 027 703 5284 - for construction-related queries
P: 0800 741 722 - for general project queries
E: p2b@nzta.govt.nz
W: www.nzta.govt.nz/p2b

You can also visit the Papakura to Drury project site office during normal business hours (weekdays 8am-5pm) at 25 Tegal Road, Drury.