More roads for long ride north

The Northern Motorway starts at the Wellington St bridge in central Auckland, over the Auckland Harbour Bridge, north to Orewa and, within a few years, on to Puhoi.

The peak hours on the Northern, especially in the morning, offer a dramatic picture of Auckland's dilemma.

In 2003, travelling over the bridge from the Oteha Valley area near Albany took 37 minutes, against 10-12 minutes in off-peak times. Some city-bound North Shore drivers now report 45-53 minutes to get to work in the mornings.

By 6.30am on most weekdays the tail of the queue trying to get over the Harbour Bridge is back at least to the Greville Rd intersection near Albany - about 10km long.

The morning peak lasts three hours from 6.30am to 9.30am and, in the evenings, about two hours from 4.30pm, although the return journey times are far less predictable and usually shorter.

The spread in the peak appears to allow more vehicles to use the bridge, although it has been congested at peak periods for years. About 125,100 vehicles a day crossed in 1993. That figure is now 162,960, according to figures just released.

There are two main hopes for the future. First, that the alternative western ring route of motorways now being built will take pressure off the bridge.

Second, that far more people will cross the bridge by bus in future.

The northern busway and bus lanes projects aside, the Northern Motorway projects being built or planned in the next 10 years are dominated by the Orewa to Puhoi extension, bypassing Orewa.

The motorway's arrival at Puhoi instead of Orewa also raises the question of how the busy State Highway 1 will fare north of that point. It is not just a question of holiday or other traffic heading to Northland. There are at least three regional parks north of Puhoi and a host of popular beaches in the near north, many with rising populations.

Here is what is being built or planned:

St Marys Bay and Victoria Park Viaduct

There are two Harbour Bridge-to-city projects planned, involving 10 lanes through St Marys Bay and adding another four to the narrow four lanes over the present Victoria Park Viaduct.

Options are still under discussion but the one now favoured by Transit NZ involves a tunnel under Victoria Park for northbound traffic at a cost of about $200 million. Southbound traffic would continue to use the existing viaduct, with a southbound tunnel some way in the future.

This arrangement would mean three lanes each way initially, with a fourth lane option on both the tunnel and viaduct.

A southbound tunnel is more challenging because of the steep climb up to the Central Motorway Junction.

The Victoria Park work is needed to allow the flow-on benefits of work at Spaghetti Junction to be realised.

Esmonde Rd interchange upgrade

A critical point in the major northern busway scheme, this major upgrade will also help general traffic markedly.

It will allow east-west connections through the interchange between Takapuna and Northcote. It is also expected to ease pressures at the other major interchanges at Onewa Rd and Northcote Rd.

Also, two new north-facing ramps (one a northbound onramp, the other a southbound offramp) will allow Devonport traffic and vehicles from Akoranga Drive going north to use this interchange for the first time.

That means less driving through Takapuna streets to reach an alternative motorway access.

North Shore City is upgrading the local approach roads leading to the interchange. Main construction should start soon and take about two years, at a cost of $38 million.

Greville Rd northbound offramp

Greville Rd near Albany will get a $460,000 slip lane, meaning a free turn onto SH17, the Albany Expressway, near North Harbour Stadium at Albany. Due for completion 2006-07.

Wainui interchange (near Orewa)

This will cost $2.7 million, with no date set for construction.

Orewa to Puhoi proposed toll motorway

This is a major project aimed at relieving a notorious bottleneck north of Orewa.

A Government decision on whether to allow this 7.5km motorway extension to be a toll road is still pending. That could influence the completion date of the project, known officially as Alpurt B2. It is now listed for 2007-08. By last month, the estimated cost of the project had risen to $365 million from $300 million in August.

The route, which includes two tunnels, will pass through the bushclad hill between Waiwera and Puhoi.

The new route will bypass Orewa and relieve the congested, steep and winding highway between Orewa and Puhoi.

Beyond Puhoi

The Orewa-to-Puhoi stretch of motorway should mean that southbound traffic heading for central Auckland down State Highway 1 at the end of holiday weekends can get onto the new free-flowing motorway, or take the old route past Waiwera.

Also, more drivers may decide to turn off SH1 at Wellsford and approach Auckland through Helensville and the 20km western ring route stretching through West Auckland into Manukau.

But northbound traffic escaping the city will experience two lanes of traffic going into one on the state highway at Puhoi - one from the new motorway and one from the existing highway. The southbound tunnel will have two lanes.

The state highway north of Puhoi remains a goat-track in modern terms. But improvements possible in the next 10 years include:

* Hungry Creek southbound passing lane

This $1.7 million improvement north of Puhoi is already being done.

* Schedewys hill deviation

North of Puhoi and just north of the Mahurangi West turnoff, this hill climbs past the transport firm of the same name. It is a $25.8 million project based on safety.

* Windy Ridge northbound passing lane

North of Puhoi, this $610,000 passing lane is a 600m safety extension of the 300m northbound passing lane in the upper half of the Schedewys Hill section of highway.

* Sheep World southbound passing lane

About 4km north of Warkworth, this $1 million job is due to start in 2005-06.

* RDF Dome hill realignment

A $3 million project north of Warkworth. The money is mostly to increase the efficiency of that section of highway.

* Waitaraire passing lane.

In an area north of Dome Hill, the $830,000 project is intended to start in 2006-07.

* Hoteo Bridge realignment

South of Wellsford, the $2.9 million project aimsto improve route efficiency.

* Mangawhai passing lane

North of Wellsford, the $680,000 project starting in 2006-07 will take about a year. 

* Don't expect a second harbour crossing any time soon

A second Waitemata Harbour crossing, whether tunnel or bridge, is not in Transit New Zealand's 10-year plan.

But in accordance with the Auckland Regional Land Transport Strategy, some scoping studies are going ahead.

The idea of a crossing near the present bridge has been around for years, but a decision still looks years away.

Auckland City Mayor Dick Hubbard, who is keen to see more progress, concedes that a new crossing - tunnel or bridge - could be 13 to 16 years away.

There have been suggestions that a tunnel could emerge at the tank farm area near Wynyard Wharf and near the St Marys Bay Auckland Harbour Bridge approach roads and the Central Motorway Junction. But a tunnel might be suitable only for public transport.

Initial thoughts in Transit NZ suggest a traffic bridge might not be able to hook into the present motorway system because of capacity problems.

It could conceivably connect with the new Southwestern Motorway from Manukau in the south through Mt Roskill and Avondale. But don't hold your breath.