Alyana du Fresne, 16, Hannah du Fresne, 16, Emma Clarke, Geoff Lewis, Anthony Young were among those campaigning for a four-lane expressway.
Alyana du Fresne, 16, Hannah du Fresne, 16, Emma Clarke, Geoff Lewis, Anthony Young were among those campaigning for a four-lane expressway.
Design work on the expressway is progressing, even though Covid-19 restrictions are a considerable obstacle.
Safety measures for the existing SH1 and SH57 are also on the drawing board and that includes a roundabout for the intersection between SH1 and SH57 and SH57 and Queen St.
In a recent email to affected property owners NZTA has said its team, working from their homes, has been working on the new transport corridor developing the plan through to construction.
Logo for Build Our Road Campaign.
"Work is also progressing on refining the road and shared path location within the preferred corridor. We're building on the strong foundation of the earlier phases of the project, including the valuable feedback that we've received from the community over recent years."
Because of the new normal, NZTA is working on a new way for the engagement process now that face-to-face contact is out of the question. Many affected property owners have email, but not all do.
NZTA said preparations are under way for geotechnical testing within the preferred corridor for the new highway. These investigations will include drilling boreholes up to 30m deep, to collect soil and rock samples, and penetration tests to evaluate the resistance of the ground.
"What we learn about the soil and rock in the area will help the planning and design of the new road.
"While the drilling and other testing isn't able to happen with the current working restrictions, we're preparing to go ahead as soon as we can," the email said.
"Nearly 50 tests will be carried out. The test sites do not represent where the exact route is likely to go as we haven't determined that yet. The locations are generally evenly spaced to provide information about soil and rock conditions throughout the area."
Some locations are selected for easiest access to avoid utilities, for example. To help understand foundation requirements, other locations have been positioned near areas where significant structures or constraints are expected, such as around rivers and gullies.
"We still need to complete further investigations and design work is underway to identify where the new road will ultimately sit within the preferred corridor. This will include considering the locations of interchanges and connections.
Intersection improvements.
"The preferred corridor is typically 300 metres wide. The final design width of the highway is likely to be between 60 metres and 100 metres, with additional width for interchanges and new local road connections.
"The exact location of the road can't be confirmed until the formal designation process for the new route is complete. We will, however, have a better idea of the route within the preferred corridor in the coming months.
"We'll be sharing the proposed route alignment with property owners and then the wider community around mid-2020, and inviting feedback on the proposal. All going well, we will then be looking to confirm the preferred alignment and location of intersections around late 2020."
Ongoing safety improvements for the existing state highway are also being worked on. These are important not only now, while the road is a state highway, but also beyond that when the current highway will be a significant local road.
Community feedback has fed into current work on safety improvements on the existing road. Initial scoping and design is under way now on investigations including proposals for:
- Stretches of median barrier on SH1, from where the PP2O expressway will end through to the intersection with SH57 - excluding Manakau and Ōhau, where safety improvements have recently been put in place.
- Edge barrier and wide centre lines, to provide greater separation between the traffic lanes, on SH57 from the SH1 intersection to Heatherlea East Road.
- A roundabout at the SH57 / Queen St intersection.
Expressway corridor.
"Before designs are finalised, we'll be sharing our plans with the community including details such as proposed start and finish points for barriers and turnaround locations.
"We'll be inviting your feedback so the next stage of detailed design can be fine-tuned.
"We will also ask for your thoughts about appropriate speeds on the roads. We're a couple of months away from completing this work and will let you know in our next newsletter when you can expect to see the initial designs."
The Government's upgrade programme is contributing $817 million towards the expressway.
