MEDIA RELEASE

27 May 2013

NZ Transport Agency – Auckland Regional Office

Queen’s Birthday closure at Auckland’s Papakura interchange

The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) will close the southbound on- and off-ramp at the Papakura interchange on Auckland’s Southern Motorway (State Highway 1) at Queen’s Birthday weekend, weather permitting.

Both ramps will be closed from 10pm Friday, 31 May until 5am Tuesday, 4 June. The closure will allow the project team to switch traffic onto the new bridge on Beach Road as part of the interchange upgrade. A detour route will be clearly signposted along Beach Road and Great South Road to the SH1 Drury southbound on-ramp, while southbound drivers wanting to leave the motorway are advised to exit at Takanini to get to Papakura and Karaka.

The NZTA’s State Highways Manager for Auckland and Northland, Tommy Parker, says that team can take advantage of the long weekend because of good progress on the upgrade.

“We are ahead of schedule, meaning we can do the switch over during Queen’s Birthday, which traditionally has lower traffic volumes than normal. It means less disruption to drivers and the community” says Mr Parker.

Mr Parker says the weather ultimately will decide if the closure goes ahead.

“Should the weather not play its part, it will mean the closure will be moved to another weekend, we will keep the community updated on that,” Mr Parker says.

Drivers should also give themselves extra time for their journey so that they get to their destination on time, and safely.

When both ramps re-open, and traffic is using the new bridge, work will start on the upgrade to the existing bridge.

“We want to thank the community for their support and patience throughout the project and looking forward to delivering the benefits in October, two months ahead of schedule” says Mr Parker.

The Papakura Interchange upgrade is one of a number of projects planned for the SH1 Southern Corridor over the next ten years which extend from SH20/SH1 to Papakura. The projects will improve reliability and journey times along the corridor. Work on the interchange also supports growth in the Papakura and Hingaia Peninsula areas.

For queries relating to the construction of the Papakura Interchange Upgrade project, contact the site team on the 24-hour project line - 0800 72 74 74.

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