Ring route plans claim another 83 homes

Auckland's western ring route is expected to claim 83 more homes - on top of the up to 365 needed for the $1.13 billion Waterview motorway.

The latest casualties on the Transport Agency's property hit list are on land needed to widen the Northwestern Motorway between St Lukes and Massey, and to upgrade key interchanges along the way, a project likely to cost about $860 million.

Although the project will be done in two main stages, starting with a 7km section between St Lukes Rd and Te Atatu, including a marine causeway to be raised 1.5m against flooding, the agency intends applying next year for land designations for the full 11km distance to Royal Rd.

An extra lane is already being added to each side of the western end of the motorway, from Royal Rd to where it will join the new $210 million Hobsonville motorway at Westgate.

Principal project director Clive Fuhr, whose organisation began public consultations yesterday by sending letters to affected property owners, said 83 more homes would need to be cleared, including an estimated 50 around the Te Atatu interchange, 15 near its Royal Rd counterpart, and about 12 more near Carrington Rd.

Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey said last night he felt sorry those affected, but the project had to go ahead.

"We've been pressing for 10 years on this because we've become quite desperate to relieve the horrific congestion," he said. "We feel for the residents but you cannot make an omelette without breaking a few eggs."

But Mr Fuhr said the Transport Agency already held enough land for a $55 million upgrade of the Lincoln Rd interchange without needing to destroy nearby homes.

That part of the project could start as early as next year.

He acknowledged a likelihood of needing portions of several commercial properties for improved ramps at the interchange during the Te Atatu-Royal Rd stage of the project, which is not expected to start before 2019.

The agency will hold a series of community information days between September 26 and October 3, with the intention of applying for land designations next year for the rest of the project and in the hope of starting the St Lukes-Te Atatu section in 2011-12.

Agency regional director Wayne McDonald said that section would be needed to cope with extra traffic expected from the completion of the Waterview combined surface-tunnel motorway link in 2015.

Two westbound lanes will be added to the existing three between the Gt North Rd and Patiki Rd interchanges, and an extra lane in each direction to the rest of the motorway west of St Lukes Rd.

"The project will improve safety and allow this important east-west link to function better," Mr McDonald said.

His organisation would also take the opportunity while widening the motorway causeway between Waterview and the top of Rosebank Peninsula, which is sinking gradually into the soft marine mud on which it was built in the 1950s, to raise the road level to eliminate flooding from Waitemata Harbour.

He said that would improve safety for motorists and users of the Northwestern Cycleway between Auckland City and Henderson, which would ultimately be extended to Westgate as part of the overall project.

Bus shoulder lanes would also be extended over the full distance, boosting an existing "patchwork" of peak-hour priority sections.

Mr McDonald said property purchases would be managed by Land Information NZ, and would be at market prices plus all their owners' transaction and removal costs.

Auckland Regional Council parks and heritage chairwoman Sandra Coney has previously raised concern about the effect of motorway widening on wildlife habitat on Pollen and Traherne islands and in the Motu Manawa marine reserve, saying that could have been reduced by choosing Rosebank Peninsula rather than Waterview for the ring route.

Forest and Bird Society Auckland branch chairwoman Anne Fenn said her organisation would not oppose the widening but wanted assurances of a high level of mitigation for effects on the area's flora and fauna.