|
Hamilton
While most of the 22km Hamilton section is being built in a “greenfields” environment away from other traffic, the connection at Tamahere is different – with 2km of SH1 included in the construction zone.
The project team need room to build the four-lane highway and in early July all SH1 traffic was switched on to what will be the Hamilton off-ramp.
This creates the space needed for road-building under the East West Link Bridge and beyond.
This traffic switch required a combined entrance on and off the highway for Cherry Lane and Bollard Road traffic.
There will be further tweaks to the road layout there over the next two years prior to completion, including a short south-bound detour using the off and on-ramps at the Tamahere Interchange.
The project team are working very hard to make all this happen and still get 50,000-plus vehicles through the site every day.
Please note the 50km/h speed restriction and drive with care.
Meanwhile bridge building and road-building continue right along the route.
We’re building a special type of road pavement called Hi-Lab. This includes large rock mixed with fine gravel, sand and cement to bind it in place.
Earthworks are largely complete in the northern and central areas but continue in the south.
The Hamilton section has five points of entry and exit. There are three full diamond interchanges at Ruakura, Greenhill and Resolution Drive so traffic can come and go from any direction.
The Southern and Northern interchanges have different configurations and you can view those on our website or call into the visitor centre, Monday to Friday, at Ryburn Road, signposted off Ruakura Road, to view the models.
Horsham Downs Road remains closed while we build the final local road bridge. Traffic is expected to be crossing the new bridge by the end of the year.
The annual project open day will be held on Saturday 16 November this year when we expect to be able to bus people along a good portion of the expressway route.
There are lots of resources on the website www.nzta.govt.nz/hamilton including video updates and flyovers, and a special tab for Southern Interchange news.
You can sign up for monthly updates and the quarterly Project Updates on the website. Read the latest one here
|
|