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Construction update

20 December 2019

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Season’s Greetings and welcome to the December 2019 Construction Update

In time for Christmas and summer holiday peak travel, the Southern Corridor Improvements (SCI) project has now opened an additional (third) lane on the Southern Motorway in both directions between Papakura and the northern side of the Takanini Interchange.

On top of the additional (fourth) southbound lane opened between SH20 at Manukau and the Hill Road off-ramp in early November, and the additional (third) southbound lane between Hill Road and Takanini opened in May 2017, this now completes the additional motorway capacity being provided by the SCI project.

Here is the latest on what’s been happening across the project over the last month, as well as what we have left to complete in early 2020.

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Three lanes are now open each way throughout the project (with bonus four lanes southbound from Manukau to Hill Road)

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Minister of Transport Phil Twyford leads the ribbon-cutting to open new traffic lanes on the Southern Motorway

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Minister of Transport marks project milestone

Southern Motorway opens new lanes in time for Christmas holiday traffic

Motorists on the Southern Motorway (SH1) will enjoy improved traffic flow as the Southern Corridor Improvements (SCI) project delivered the final sections of extra lanes this week. The Minister of Transport, the Hon Phil Twyford, marked the opening of the extra lanes on Thursday 19 December, celebrating a significant milestone for the project.

The Minister acknowledged the Southern Motorway as the main route in and out of New Zealand’s biggest city, with improved traffic flow and eased bottlenecks a big plus for more than 95,000 vehicles that use it every day.

Automobile Association (AA) spokesperson Barney Irvine said early traffic measurements undertaken by the AA on the extra southbound lanes showed a time saving of more than six minutes per journey.

“Added up and multiplied across two-way journeys, some commuters can look forward to saving an hour a week or nearly 60 hours a year,” he said.

The $317m project, which started in October 2015, has now widened the motorway by an additional lane southbound between the SH20/SH1 connection and the Papakura interchange, and an additional lane northbound between Papakura and Takanini. Along the way, the SCI team has built 24 bridges, 22 retaining walls and 4.4km of new noise walls.

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A final EMOGPA surface will be laid in early 2020

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Final road surface in New Year

While all motorway lanes are now open in their final alignment, the “icing on the cake” will come in the New Year, when a final layer of noise-reducing asphalt will be laid all the way from the SH20 connection to Papakura, and back again.

The final surfacing will be completed using EMOGPA – epoxy-modified open grade porous asphalt - a longer-lasting modern road surface that reduces road noise and water spray.

The more-durable EMOGPA surface is expected to last up to 30 years – that’s four to five times longer than standard products. This will mean less disruption to road users for maintenance and resurfacing activities, and much better long-term value.

Residents will notice a distinct reduction in the noise made by passing traffic.

Final lane marking will also be completed after the EMOGPA has been laid.

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The double motorway bridge over the North Island Main Trunk Line will have new under-bridge protection to prevent debris falling onto the train tracks

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Block-of-Line works over Christmas

While most work will be shut down over the Christmas break, the project will take advantage of an existing KiwiRail “Block-of-line” rail line closure to complete some important work under the motorway at Takanini.

The North Island Main Trunk Railway Line will be closed from 27 December for maintenance. While it’s out of commission, a skeleton SCI Project crew will work 27-31 December to remove scaffolding over the railway line and install permanent protection that will stop debris falling from the motorway onto the tracks below.

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The shared use path will be completed in early 2020

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Shared use path to be completed in early 2020

Much of the concrete has been poured for the shared use walking and cycling path that connects Papakura to Takanini and local communities, but some work remains to link the sections together, link the pathway to the footbridge at Pescara Point and complete the rest and recreation spaces along the way.

Pool-style fencing will protect pedestrians from the motorway and specially-designed balustrading will be installed on parts of the path that cross the water at Pahurehure Inlet.

This work will be carried out in early 2020.

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Takanini Interchange and Great South Road will be completed in early 2020

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Completion of Takanini Interchange and Great South Road improvements

The pre-Christmas focus on the motorway lanes saw less activity than normal on Great South Road because this arterial and the motorway could not both be closed at the same time.

However, most underground utility services running through the Great South Road corridor have now been moved and the roadway widened in preparation for reshaping of the interchange on and off-ramps, and final seal, in early 2020.

Lighting improvements and urban design features will also be completed.

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For further information

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We hope you have enjoyed this construction update and we look forward to letting you know more about the construction works still remaining to be completed for the project.

If you have any questions or queries, please contact our team on free phone 0508 NZTA SCI (0508 6982 724) or at southerncorridor@nzta.govt.nz. And feel free to visit us at the Project Office located at 8-12 Great South Road, Takanini (behind the Gull petrol station).

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