The highly anticipated Pūhoi to Warkworth motorway will finally open before the end of this month.
The opening of the stretch of the motorway doesn’t spell the end of roadworks though, which will continue for a number of months to fully complete the project.
After two Covid-impacted delays, the motorway, named Ara Tūhono, or “connecting path” is planned to chop 11 minutes off the drive north.
It was due to open in the summer of 2021/22 and then at Queen’s Birthday weekend last year.
NX2 Northern Express Group said the most significant work that needs to take place is to the Pūhoi on and off-ramps which can’t be completed until the motorway opens and are necessary to complete the construction of the ramps.
Temporary closures to both Pūhoi ramps will be in place and may have to be extended due to winter weather, NX2 confirmed.
The Pūhoi southbound on-ramp will close immediately after the new road opens, 24/7, for approximately four weeks.
The Pūhoi northbound off-ramp will close at night immediately after the new road opens, from 9pm to 5am daily, for approximately two weeks.
Waka Kotahi said work on both ramps is highly weather dependent and can’t be done in the rain or if the ground temperature is too cold, which affects the laying of asphalt.
“We fully appreciate this will be inconvenient, especially for those living in these areas.
“We would like to thank the community for their patience, while we complete the last major step required to provide access to the new motorway and smoother ride for journeys to and from Pūhoi,” NX2 said in a Facebook post.
The cost of the motorway has previously increased from $780 million to $1.05 billion.
The motorway is expected to be a boon for the town of Warkworth, which is forecast to grow from a population of 6600 to more than 25,000 over the next 25 years. The town is already growing faster than the Auckland average and had 456 new homes consented in the past five years.
The motorway is also designed and built to handle storms. When the summer storms battered Auckland, the new motorway coped well but the existing state highway suffered significant slip damage.
The new motorway has a stormwater system engineered and built to handle the terrain and a 1-in-100-year flood. It has 46 culverts, including the 11-barrel culvert structure for flood relief at the northern end; extensive swale drainage, and numerous stormwater ponds.
There’s also a porous asphalt surface to help with water run-off and about 1 million native plants have been planted to soak up water.
When the motorway is finished, Waka Kotahi said, it will be a safer, more resilient and reliable route between Auckland and Northland.
Police could be seen cordoning off a street in the area.