Weekend road closures for marathon
Almost 14,000 people are set to pound the pavement in the Auckland marathon tomorrow.
The country’s biggest road race will see a number of roads closed and diversions put in place around Auckland CBD and the North Shore, including parts of the Harbour Bridge.
The course starts in Devonport and heads through Takapuna before going south over the Harbour Bridge and continuing along the waterfront and Tamaki Drive to St Heliers, where participants will turn around and head for the finish line at Victoria Park.
The Northern Busway, between Constellation Dr and Onewa Rd interchange, will be closed from 4am11am tomorrow, as will southbound lanes one and two of the Northern motorway from Esmonde Rd to Shelly Beach Rd. The Onewa Rd southbound on- ramp, northbound Curran St onramp and Shelly Beach Rd off- ramp will also be closed during these hours. The Fanshawe St off- ramp city bound will be closed from 2am to 3pm, other than the right- hand turn into Beaumont St.
A number of roads are also set to be closed in and around Takapuna, Devonport, St Mary’s Bay, Westhaven, Wynyard Quarter, Victoria Park, Viaduct Harbour, CBD, Mechanics Bay and the Bays. Detours will be in place.
Motorists can expect parking restrictions in these areas, from 2pm today through to 2pm tomorrow.
A full li st of road closures and parking restrictions can be found on the Auckland Transport website.
AT spokesman James Ireland said people needed to plan ahead.
“If you are taking part in the marathon, make sure you check which transport option suits you best.”
For participants coming from the North Shore, there will be buses to the event from the Albany park and ride, the Constellation park and ride and from 488 Lake Rd, Takapuna.
From the city there will be ferries leaving the Downtown Ferry Terminal from 4.20am.
After the race, Northern Express buses will leave every 15 minutes from Victoria Park.
Participants from 49 countries including Australia, Britain, United States, Germany and China will be lining up at the start this year. Almost 700 runners have signed up to run for charities including the Mental Health Foundation, Cancer Society, SPCA and Auckland City Mission.