North Shore Times (New Zealand)
NCI motorway project hearing opens
A major Auckland motorway project is one step closer as a board of inquiry starts for three weeks in Upper Harbour.
The Northern Corridor Improvements (NCI) project proposal board of inquiry hearing will run at QBE Stadium in Albany until August 8.
Thirty-three submissions were made to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in March.
More than half of the submissions were from individuals and business groups.
Ten submitters opposed the proposal in part or in full, and 22 supported it in part or in full. Only four were seeking the proposal to be declined.
However, 22 submitters sought the proposal to be granted with conditions.
Common issues and concerns included traffic and transport, construction effects, busways and stations, and shared use paths and cycle ways, according to an report by the EPA.
Fifteen submitters discussed the busway.
There was support for the extension of the busway and enhancement of public transport, with the importance of futureproofing noted, including additional car parking. There was also a request for a bus station at Rosedale.
Four submitters also discussed the impacts on community facilities, including the loss of public open space, the projected shortage of sports fields on the North Shore and relocation of Harbour Hockey facility.
The $700 million project aims to provide a direct motorway connection between State Highway One (SH1) and State Highway 18 (SH18).
Paul Matthews Rd will be extended with a bridge over the new SH18 motorway lanes, including on and off-ramps to SH18.
There is also a proposed extensions of the Northern Busway from Albany Bus Station to Constellation Bus Station, and a shared use pathway.
Extra lanes between Oteha Valley Rd and Constellation Dr are planned, as is widening of SH1 overbridges to Greville Rd and Rosedale Rd.
Rosedale Rd will be widened with footpaths on either side.
New Zealand Transport Agency (Transport Agency) lodged an application for six notices of requirement and 25 resource consents with the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) in December 2016.
The proposal was publicly notified on February 22.
See the EPA website for more on the board of inquiry hearing. The hearing runs from July 18 to August 8.