16 March 2017 | AUCKLAND

Changes to exit lanes on SH16 Te Atatu off-ramp

The NZ Transport Agency is changing the layout of lanes, to separate motorists and buses exiting the Northwestern Motorway at Te Atatu.

New markings on the north-bound off-ramp from State Highway 16 will now provide two clear exit lanes for left turning traffic heading south onto Te Atatu Road and a separate bus shoulder lane.

The Transport Agency’s Auckland Highway Manager, Brett Gliddon says monitoring of traffic flows showed that vehicles were using the bus lanes to shorten their wait in the queue to exit.

“This meant buses weren’t getting the priority the bus lane was designed to give them, and these changes should help all traffic move more quickly off the motorway.”

The off ramp will be closed overnight on 20 March (weather permitting) to remark the lanes and clearly separate off ramp lanes and “Bus Only” lanes. The new lanes will be in effect from the 21st of March.

The upgraded Te Atatu Interchange was opened in May 2016. It’s one of several improvement projects as part of the Government’s $2.4b Western Ring Route – designed to keep Auckland moving.

The project added an extra lane in each direction between Te Atatu and Lincoln Roads, new bus shoulder lanes, upgraded the motorway on and off-ramps as well as raising and widening the Te Atatu overbridge and extending the cycleway alongside the motorway.

For more information on the Western Ring Route project visit:
https://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/the-western-ring-route/

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