Dogleg to be straightened

Puhinui Rd's notorious dogleg will no longer irritate motorists travelling between Te Irirangi Dr and the airport. Andrea Jutson reports.
A contract for the $17.6 million Cavendish Link between Te Irirangi Dr and the airport was signed last week. The completed link will divert airport traffic from Puhinui Rd and its infamous dogleg.
The route will extend from Te Irirangi Dr along Cavendish Dr in Manukau City, through Liverpool and Nesdale Avenues to SH20. It will also be widened to four lanes with cycle lanes and a new on-ramp built at Nesdale Ave connecting it with the Southwestern Motorway.
The most difficult aspects of the development will be the high volume of traffic using Cavendish Dr and an underpass to be constructed beneath the main trunk railway line.
Contractors HEB Smithbridge already are building a $4.25 million rail bridge, and will dig an underpass for traffic to pass through.
Manukau's mayor, Sir Barry Curtis, says the bridge should be completed by the end of the month. The Manukau spur line from a new underground station at Lambie Dr and Wiri Station Rd will link meet the main trunk line south of the bridge.
Disruption to homeowners should be minimal while the Cavendish Link is being built, as properties were bought by the council long before the deal was signed. Old housing along Liverpool Ave is being rezoned Business 5, turning the area into a light industrial/commercial zone similar to Accent Dr in Botany Downs.
Meanwhile, Clendon and Onslow Avenues' access to Liverpool Ave will be sealed off to reduce the number of intersections along the route. Traffic signals will replace roundabouts at Lambie and Cavendish Drives and the intersection of Plunket Ave, Cavendish Dr and Liverpool Ave.
The project is expected to be finished in October 2008.