Restoring the Great South Road
I was thinking to myself that the Great South Road with over 150 years of history behind it and the Southern Motorway doing its job of carrying traffic in a high-capacity manner, it is time to restore the Great South Road and have it connected back to its surrounding urban fabric.
Some Wiki-History on the Great South Road
Great South Road, New Zealand
These days, long parts of Great South Road’s length are urban or suburban.
The Great South Road was the northern section of the earliest highway between Auckland and Wellington, in the North Island of New Zealand. Construction of the Great South Road began in 1861 during the New Zealand Wars. The road was constructed by British Army troops, and provided a flow of supplies for the Waikato campaign.[1] Approximately 12,000 soldiers were involved in the construction over two years. After the wars, more peaceful uses predominated, and the road became the main social and commercial link to the growing agricultural areas south of Auckland.[2]
Much of the road between Newmarket and Drury is laid in concrete, up to 1 foot thick but is now covered with asphalt. Originally, the road was marked by milestones, but these are now all believed lost.[2] State Highway 1, with its superior engineering for speed, has largely superseded the Great South Road as a through route, but many parts of the road are still in use, particularly the urban sections.
The road begins[3] in the central Auckland suburb of Epsom, then passes through the suburbs of Greenlane, Penrose, Otahuhu, Papatoetoe, Manukau, Manurewa and Papakura. Leaving the urban sprawl, it heads south throughDrury and Bombay, over the Bombay Hills, and follows the east bank of the Waikato River until crossing it at Ngaruawahia. A section of State Highway 3 through Ohaupo retains the road’s southernmost extension.[4]
——ends—–
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_South_Road
Another picture of the Great South Road in Papakura (where I live)
Source: http://amerinz.blogspot.co.nz/2009/10/auckland-views-papakura.html
And an enlarged picture of Stuart’s thoughts on the Great South Road
Now remember each section of the Great South Road in Auckland is different and serves different areas and purposes. This includes:
- Mixed Use
- Residential
- Metropolitan Centres
- Industrial Areas
- Feeder to the Southern Motorway
- Commercial areas
Each of the above treats and requires the Great South Road to act differently. That said the Great South Road does not need to be a motorway sewer like it is as it runs through the Manukau City Centre.
I have an alternative to the Great South Road in Manukau on how it could be retrofitted to bring back some of that “greatness”
Note: Botany Sky Train proposal does run elevated along the Great South Road between the intersections of Manukau Station Road in the south and Te Irirangi Drive in the north (of Manukau City Centre). The Sky Train is elevated but shown at ground level owing to limitations of the Street Mix program.
What do you think can be done to the Great South Road to restore its greatness?
Talking Southern Auckland 