Mayor Goff and Councillor Walker on site with the project team.

Auckland Mayor kick starts year on the busway

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff and Councillor Wayne Walker kick started the year on the busway with a visit to the project in January.

They took a sneak peek at the new busway which is being extended to Albany and the upgrade to Constellation Station.

The group also took the opportunity to visit the area of the future Rosedale Bus Station, which will be a key public transport hub for Auckland Transport and Auckland Council.

Mayor Goff is a long time supporter of the busway and was impressed with the scale of the project and progress so far.

Pātiki design on the retaining walls.

Wall design takes shape at Albany

The urban design for the project looks to the ancestral use of the wider area for safe passage and harvesting kai (food), whether by ara (tracks) or awa (water).

Design elements of the bridges, bridge barriers and retaining wall panels take the modern day traveller on a journey by foot, bicycle, bus or car and reconnect them to the ancestral landscape and Māori tradition.

Some design elements have been built and are visible as you travel on the Northern Motorway, with the remainder scheduled to be completed over the next 18 months. The first feature is the Taenga (arrival) which represents the north/south arrival into Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland).

The panel design on the Albany Busway Bridge concrete retaining wall is the pātiki design. It has been used to represent the different types of kai caught and transported on waka (canoe). Pātiki designs are based on the diamond shape of the flounder fish.

On the night shift

If you live near the project or have been travelling home on the motorway – you may have come across work taking place at night. Why do we work at night when the day seems to be less disruptive to our neighbours?

The main reason is for the safety of the travelling public and to avoid major traffic delays. As there is less traffic using the roads at night, we are able to apply to close them and put detours in place.

Often there is not enough space during the day to carry out the work. Some sections of the local roads and motorway are being completely rebuilt and having new lanes added. New drains and underground services are also being installed. The project team can carry out this work in a safe space on the night shift without causing delays to commuters during
the day.

Changes on SH18/Upper Harbour Highway

Look out for changes planned for SH18 eastbound and Paul Matthews Road in April. More details are coming in our next e-newsletter.

More information

For more information on the Auckland Northern Corridor project, contact us on 0800 NCI Project (0800 624 776) or at northerncorridor@nzta.govt.nz

Visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz/nci