Category: Transport Planning

Looking at Transport Planning and Design

NZTA to Begin Work On the Hill Street, Warkworth Intersection

·

Construction to begin this Summer

 

Of all times NZTA were to pick it had to be in the Summer peak season too…

From NZTA

Summer start for Warkworth’s Hill Street improvements

6 Aug 2014 02:36pm | NZ Transport Agency: Auckland and Northland

People in the Rodney area will have their opportunity later this month to find out more about improvements to the State Highway 1/Hill Street intersection in Warkworth before the NZ Transport Agency starts construction this summer. The Transport Agency’s open day will be held on Saturday 16 August from 10am to 2pm in the Old Masonic Hall in Baxter Street, Warkworth.

Highway Manager, Brett Gliddon, says the open day is a chance for the Transport Agency to explain in more detail its interim improvements for the intersection.

“We are committed to delivering these improvements this summer, but accept that these are not the final solution for Hill Street. As part of the longer term plans for Hill Street, we will continue to investigate the traffic impacts of the new Pūhoi to Warkworth motorway, the Western Collector and potential projects such as the Matakana Link,” Mr Gliddon says.

The interim improvements at the intersection include:

  • widening the northbound approach on SH1, and increasing the capacity of the right turn lane into Matakana Road by extending it back to the intersection with Shoesmith Street.
  • widening the corresponding southbound approach which will add some capacity for traffic turning left into Matakana Road.
  • the southbound right turn lane from SH1 into Hill Street will be removed. This will improve traffic flow by giving more green light time to other traffic movements. It also provides additional space, easing the impact of construction. (alternative routes to access Hill Street are available via Hudson Road and Falls Road or Hudson and Albert Road)
  • walkers and cyclists will benefit from a new wider shared path on the western side of SH1
  • Improving the connection between Sandspit Road and Elizabeth Street.

Mr Gliddon says construction avoids the busiest holiday weekends of the year such as Labour Weekend and Christmas/New Year to minimise driver disruption. The improvements are expected to be finished before Easter 2015.

“We want to deliver these improvements as soon as possible with a minimum of disruption to drivers. The works will take place sequentially to keep traffic moving and minimise any inconvenience.”

Information about the project is also available online at www.nzta.govt.nz/warkworth

—ends—

Source: http://www.nzta.govt.nz/about/media/releases/3547/news.html

 

Okay so NZTA will avoid those Summer peaks with the Hill Street intersection interim improvements.

 

Changes to the City Rail Link [updated with video from Auckland Transport]

·

LGOMIA request to go in for Post-CRL Operational Plan

 

Bit of activity around the changes to the City Rail Link this morning in order to scale back costs.

From the Office of the Mayor

Mayor announces 20 percent cut in cost of City Rail Link

Auckland Mayor Len Brown has announced a significant reduction in the cost of the City Rail Link (CRL) from $2.86 billion to less than $2.4 billion lowering the price of Auckland’s number one transport infrastructure priority by about 20 per cent.

A significant part of that cost reduction is an Auckland Transport (AT) decision to redevelop the existing Mt Eden Station and connect it to the CRL rather than build a new underground station at Newton.

That design change will save more than $150 million, improve the reliability and journey time of train services, minimise construction disruption and reduce property purchase requirements.

The other significant saving is a decision that additional electric trains will not be required as part of the core CRL project, saving more than $330 million.

Len Brown says the ongoing review of the design and costs for the project shows we can get the CRL operational using the existing fleet. It is expected new units will be required for the CRL’s future developments, as the network expands.

“This is an exciting development and makes a 2016 start date for the construction of the CRL even more realistic, especially at a time when more and more people are choosing to get out of their cars and travel by rail*,” says Mayor Brown.

“Aucklanders are behind this, the business and investment community are behind this, we just need to get on and get it done.”

Mayor Brown said he expects more good news on the cost of the project to come as optimisation, value engineering and advances in tunnelling technology are taken into account.

*The year to June 2014 saw a 13.9% increase in Auckland rail patronage, to 11.4 million trips.

—ends—-

More coverage can be seen at the following:

Auckland transport project overhauled

AT drops Newton Station for cheaper CRL

And from Todd Niall at Radio NZ this morning

The text version can be seen here: $500m cost cut in Auckland rail plans

 

More on this later today including sending in a Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act request on the post CRL operating plan

 

UPDATE: Auckland Transport has a video on the Mt Eden Station Changes