Construction kicks off on final phase of Eastern Busway $1.4b project ‘vital’
Construction is officially under way on the final phase of Auckland’s billion-dollar Eastern Busway.
The first part of the network has already connected Panmure to Pakuranga, and the next section will connect Botany to the existing network.
The project has had numerous ups and downs as funding shortfalls have delayed the construction moving ahead. However, in December last year the Government announced a $200 million contribution to the project, which will also see a new station built at Botany.
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown said he had pushed to get the ‘‘vital project’’ under way.
The $1.4b project will bring rapid transit to the sprawling eastern suburbs, with the dedicated busway and cycle lanes out to the terminus in Botany. The new busway will give commuters a highfrequency service every few minutes in peak periods, cutting the travel time from Botany Town Centre to Britomart by 20 minutes.
About 7000 people are already using the Panmuret0-Pakuranga busway daily, according to Auckland Transport. Brown said Auckland Transport expected 14,000 passengers a day to use the busway by 2028, and 23,000 from 2048.
‘‘It is a great example of a project that provides Aucklanders with faster journeys, both for people catching buses and for people driving,’’ Brown said.
The project also includes a Reeves Rd flyover to split traffic coming off the Waipuna Bridge from Ti Rakau Dr, creating a direct link to Pakuranga Rd.
A council funding squeeze in 2021 pushed the expected completion date of the busway out by a further two years from its initial end date.
The Integrated Auckland Transport Plan was announced in December 2022, and hailed by mayor Wayne Brown as the first time that all projects, and the possible port relocation, were in one conversation.
The draft plan will be ready by the end of next month, steered by both the mayor, and the Transport Minister Michael Wood.