Fine weather bodes well for tunnel opening

With fine weather forecast for most of the weekend the NZ Transport Agency is looking forward to carrying out the final road works needed to connect the Victoria Park Tunnel with State Highway 1 and opening the tunnel to two lanes of traffic on the morning of Monday 14 November – three months ahead of schedule.

Major road works to connect the northbound lanes of State Highway 1 to the tunnel approach will start at 10pm tonight (Friday) just north of the Nelson Street off ramp. The possibility of showers on Saturday night and Sunday is not expected to interfere with progress, and work is expected to finish early on Monday morning when northbound traffic is switched from the Victoria Park flyover to the tunnel.

Over the weekend the Northern Motorway (State Highway 1) will be closed at night just north of the Nelson Street off ramp, and will be one lane northbound only during the day. The northbound connections from State Highway 16 to the Northern Motorway will be closed continuously throughout the weekend.

As the NZTA prepares for the final stage of work to get the tunnel ready for traffic, drivers are being urged to plan their journeys to avoid severe motorway congestion through the central motorway junction over the weekend.

The central motorway junction (Spaghetti junction) is the most heavily congested section of the city’s motorway network and delays are expected on both the state highway and surrounding arterial roads. Work is due to start at 10pm after Friday’s evening peak. All closures will be lifted and the two tunnel lanes opened by 5am the following Monday.

Alternative routes north are:

• Via the Northwestern Motorway (SH16) and the newly completed Hobsonville to North Shore (SH18 – SH1) link
• Via the CBD and Fanshawe Street motorway on ramp
• Via the Curran Street on ramp

An interactive map showing the recommended routes north from different parts of Auckland is at: www.nzta.govt.nz. Regular updates on the traffic situation will be posted at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Victoria-Park-Tunnel/258420700871289

The $340m Victoria Park Tunnel project – which includes the tunnel and associated motorway improvements through St Marys Bay – is the first of seven roads of national significance identified by the Government to support economic prosperity to be completed. Its benefits include reduced congestion, gains in travel time, and safer and more reliable journeys.