MEDIA RELEASE

24 March 2011

NZ Transport Agency - Auckland Regional office

Broadway Closures for Safe Removal of Old Viaduct Segments

Newmarket’s Broadway will be closed overnight between Mortimer Pass and Alpers Ave, from 8pm to 5am, Sunday to Thursday next week (27-31 March) for work related to the NZ Transport Agency’s Newmarket Connection: Viaduct Replacement Project. Diversions will be in place to for drivers.

The NZTA says the closures are required for the safe removal and lowering of segments of the old southbound viaduct directly over Broadway.

The closures mark significant progress on Stage 2 of the viaduct replacement project. Already over 90 individual segments of the old viaduct have been removed through a combination of this innovative deconstruction method and, where appropriate, more traditional demolition means. The latter approach, with excavators and munchers, at the southern abutment has cleared the way for completion of the fourth lane on the new southbound viaduct.

While constructing the new southbound viaduct without interrupting motorway traffic has been challenging, it is the unprecedented deconstruction of the old viaduct between two live motorway carriageways that makes the project one of the most complex ever to be undertaken in New Zealand, says the NZTA’s State Highways Manager for Auckland, Tommy Parker. With complexity comes risk, and the NZTA is keen to ensure all drivers understand the continued importance of adhering to the 70 kph speed limit in place across the viaduct.

“The replacement project will run until December 2012, and until then, drivers need to be aware that they are driving through a round-the-clock construction zone,” says Mr Parker. “All Aucklanders and city visitors have a key role to play in ensuring the safety of themselves, fellow motorists and our own project team.”

Amidst the ongoing deconstruction work, the project’s next key milestone will be the opening of the fourth southbound lane, which is scheduled for early May.

More information on the Newmarket Connection: Viaduct Replacement Project, including video footage of recent deconstruction activity, is available on the project’s website: www.nzta.govt.nz/newmarketconnection

ENDS

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