KEY POINTS:
Can you tell us which onramps are going to have ramp-signalling on the Northern Motorway, and when? Craig Fennell, Torbay.
I certainly can. Transit is planning to put in signalling on 15 onramps on the Northern Motorway. Installation begins next November and will take about 18 months to complete. The signals will link with the Northern Busway, and several locations will have bypass lanes to give priority to trucks, buses and high-occupancy vehicles.
And the onramp winners are - Onewa Rd northbound, Esmonde Rd west to north, northbound loop and southbound, Northcote Rd north and southbound, Tristram Ave north and south, Constellation Drive north and south, Greville Rd and Oteha Valley Rd northbound and southbound, and the Silverdale southbound. Whew.
And still with the motorways . . .
When will the links between the Northern Motorway and the port be opening? Arcot Somashekar, Auckland.
Current link opening dates are: North to Port/Northwest (SH1 to SH16) - December 5; Port to North (SH16 to SH1) - December 18; Northwestern to North (SH16 to SH1) - December 19. This means that you will be able to drive from, say, St Lukes to Onewa Rd without all that messing about at Union St/Wellington St. And back again. Excellent news.
In many small towns throughout New Zealand I see signs asking trucks not to use engine braking for the next X kilometres. How come the largest and longest city in the country doesn't have the same restriction? G. Jones, CBD.
Signs restricting heavy vehicle engine braking are only put up when there is a local bylaw to that effect, as a noise control measure.
Interestingly, Auckland City has never had such a bylaw. It appears there is an unwritten rule that truckies will not use engine braking in the city, unless it's an unavoidable safety issue. If specific incidents are reported to the council, officers discuss the matter with the company involved. Signs at depots reminding truck drivers not to use engine braking were thought by the Freight Forum to be the best way of resolving the issue.
