The south is the largest future urban growth area in Auckland, with around 5,300 hectares of land identified for urban development.

What we are planning

The SH1 Papakura and Bombay project is an early project from within the Supporting Growth Programme (www.supportinggrowth.govt.nz).  It is one of many projects planned to support growth in the south of Auckland and is also a priority project under the Auckland Transport Alignment Project (ATAP).

The Papakura to Bombay project builds on the Southern Corridor Improvements which will be completed this year, and will provide improved journey reliability along SH1, as well as improved walking and cycling facilities.

The preferred option is to deliver additional lanes (six lanes all the way from Papakura to Bombay), and to also provide wide shoulders to future-proof for bus services along the SH1 corridor; interchange improvements; and a shared walking and cycling path to support nearby growth in housing and employment.

Late last year this design was shared with the community as part of the wider Supporting Growth Programme’s public engagement period and the team heard feedback on growth, strategic connections, the Mill Road Corridor southern section, walking and cycling, public transport and more.  The 2018 Engagement Summary can be viewed at www.nzta.govt.nz/p2b-engagement

Since then we’ve re-confirmed the scope of the project and the details of our intended staged approach, and launched the next stage, which will see us undertaking detailed design and preparing applications for consents and route protection.

Project stages

The first stage of the SH1 Papakura and Bombay project will deliver improvements between Papakura and Drury.  It is divided into two sub-stages for the southbound and the northbound lanes.

Stage 1 includes:

• An additional (third) lane in each direction
• Interchange improvements
• A shared walking and cycling path along the northbound side
• New local road connections
• Wide shoulders to future-proof for public transport services.

At Drury, interchange improvements will enable electrification of the rail line and future-proofing for additional rail line(s).

Following approvals, construction of Stage 1 is anticipated to begin in 2020.

The second stage of the project, from Drury to Bombay, is likely to be built in the longer term, in line with the projections for longer term population growth and the release of land in new growth areas.

Stage 2 will include similar improvements to Stage 1 and include a proposed new interchange between Drury and Ramarama, known at this stage as Drury South.  This interchange will provide the connection point for other strategic transport projects being developed under the Supporting Growth Programme, Mill Road and the Pukekohe Expressway, both of which also support growth in the south.

At this time, there is no anticipated start date for construction on Stage 2.  The intent is to apply for route protection approvals for this section, alongside the other long-term projects in the Supporting Growth Programme.

Route protection is a planning process to identify and protect land areas to enable the future construction and operation of necessary infrastructure (such as water, wastewater, rail, transport or power etc).  More information on route protection is available on the Supporting Growth website at: www.supportinggrowth.govt.nz/publications/route-protection-faq

Timeframes

We understand that for many people these works cannot happen quickly enough, and that for many others there has been frustration with construction on the Southern Corridor Improvements project between Manukau and Papakura since early 2016. 

We are planning to start construction on the additional Papakura to Drury southbound lane in 2020 and to minimise impacts on the community.

Construction on the northbound section from Drury to Papakura would then follow after completion of the southbound section.

At the same time, route protection processes will begin for the second stage between Drury and Bombay.

More information

For more information about the SH1 Papakura to Bombay project:

• Visit the project website: www.nzta.govt.nz/p2b or
• Email: p2b@nzta.govt.nz  or
• Call the project team on: 0800 SH1 P2B (0800 741 722).