New southbound lanes have now opened
New motorway lanes are now open as part of Auckland’s Southern Corridor Improvements project.
Additional southbound lanes on the southern motorway opened to traffic on Wednesday, one between Hill Rd and the Takanini interchange and a lane between the Takanini southbound onramp to the Pahurehure Inlet.
NZTA Auckland highway manager Brett Gliddon said the lanes had already made ‘‘substantial improvements during the afternoon peak for southbound traffic’’.
Motorway users had been experiencing long wait times at the ramp signals entering SH1 from SH20, and since the new lane was opened, it was estimated that wait times at the ramp signal had been reduced by up to 15 minutes during the afternoon peak period, he said.
Data also showed 23-minute travel time savings during peak traffic from Mount Wellington to Papakura and nine-minute savings from Portage Rd to Papakura, Gliddon said.
Transport Minister Simon Bridges said the lanes were helping ease bottlenecks for thousands of motorists.
‘‘The Southern Corridor connects Auckland and Northland to the rest of the country.
‘‘The [project] will improve safety and journey reliability in the short term while supporting the rapid population growth in the south of the region in the next 30 years,’’ Bridges said.
The Southern Corridor Improvements project is a $268 million development and is one of the Government’s accelerated transport projects for the Auckland region. Further improvements will extend the extra lanes both southbound and northbound.
Completion is due in 2019.