Manukau Harbour Crossing to finish ahead of schedule

The Manukau Harbour Crossing project on the Southwestern Motorway will be complete and open seven months ahead of schedule, says Transport Minister Steven Joyce.


The new section of road was due to be finished in March 2011 but will now be ready in August of this year.


Mr Joyce says this is great news - not just for Auckland but for the entire country.


"Reducing congestion on this part of State Highway 20 will bring real gains for our exporters who depend on travel reliability to get to the airport in plenty of time, and for the thousands of visitors to New Zealand who also rely on the airport."


Mr Joyce says when complete, the new crossing will result in travel time savings of up to 20 minutes between CBD and Airport, as a result of congestion relief.


"And the news that the project will be completed well in advance of the Rugby World Cup in 2011 is an added bonus."


The $230M project will double capacity on the Southwestern Motorway to eight lanes between Onehunga and Mangere.


The new bridge will feature four southbound lanes, including one lane just for local traffic. The existing bridge is being refurbished to carry four lanes for northbound traffic. The project also includes increased capacity for buses, and the new bridge has been future proofed to carry rail.


The Manukau Harbour Crossing is part of the southern end of the Western Ring Route - a 48 kilometre alternative to SH1 running between Manukau and Albany via State Highways 20, 16 and 18.


Mr Joyce paid tribute to the hard work on the project site, and to the great team work between the NZ Transport Agency and its partners - Fletchers, Beca and Higgins - that is helping deliver the bridge ahead of schedule.


One million man hours have been put into the project since construction started in April 2008.


The project has also set new industry benchmarks for safety, environmental compliance and waste recovery.


For more information visit www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/mhc