KEY POINTS:
A $230 million motorway project improving a main route to Auckland Airport should be completed in time for the Rugby World Cup, the project manager says.
About 60 per cent of the foundations have been completed on the new Southwestern Motorway bridge between the suburbs of Mangere Bridge and Onehunga.
The Transport Agency's State Highway 20 Manukau Crossing project involves the building of a duplicate four-lane motorway bridge over the Manukau Harbour alongside the bridge built in 1983.
The existing bridge has stayed open during the construction. A third smaller bridge built in the early 1900s is now used only as a walkway.
The new bridge will be for southbound traffic while the old will only be for northbound.
The two bridges will have four one-way lanes - compared with the current two - plus bus priority lanes.
Project manager John Burden said four out of 12 columns had been completed on the new bridge and work would begin on the superstructure after Christmas.
"We work pretty hard to keep traffic flowing and we have extensive plans to make sure to minimise disruption to traffic. It's obviously a very important route to the airport so we're very mindful that we have to keep things operating and flowing as if we weren't there."
The motorways on each side of the bridges are also being widened to three lanes each way - instead of two - plus bus lanes.
Work began in April and is expected to be completed by 2011.
"It's all going according to plan," Mr Burden said.
