New motorway connections boost cycleways

Roadworks at Hobson and Nelson St motorway connections create key links in central city cycleway. Photo / Dean Purcell

Two of Auckland's busiest motorway entry and exit points are being upgraded for a major bike route as the Government digs deeper into its $100 million urban cycleways fund.

The Transport Agency is asking drivers joining Spaghetti Junction from Hobson St, or entering the city at Nelson St from the Southern and Southwestern motorways, to watch speeds over the next three weeks as the intersections with Union and Pitt Sts are improved for cycle crossings.

Work is booked from 7pm to 5am from Sunday to early Friday each week - starting last night - to provide safer passage for pedallers joining or leaving a $13.9m cycleway between Upper Queen St and the waterfront.

Contractors will upgrade pedestrian crossings and traffic signals as well as resurfacing pavements to make the main route and a branch bikeway back up Pitt St to Karangahape Rd smoother for cyclists.

Northern highways manager Brett Gliddon expects his motorway ramps and traffic signals to keep operating throughout the project, but says traffic management will differ slightly each night, and wants all road users to watch their speeds "so we can keep our workers and others using the area safe".

Stage one of the project includes a 160m pre-fabricated bike bridge over Spaghetti Junction from just off Upper Queen St to the former Nelson St motorway off-ramp, which was decommissioned 10 years ago.

Cyclists will have to make two road crossings from the city end of the ramp to the western side of Nelson St, which the bikeway will run along to Victoria St by the end of this year.

The second stage will involve developing the branch bikeway to Karangahape Rd and extending the main route to the waterfront by mid-2016, either along the rest of Nelson St or along Hobson St, via Victoria St.

The Government is providing $11.35 million against an Auckland Council share of $2.55m, mainly from the national land transport fund, with just $1.75 million from an earlier dip into the Government urban cycleways coffers.

But members of Auckland Transport and Cycle Action Auckland are delighted with the Government's confirmation last week of a $24.75 million "main course" injection from the cycleways fund towards $88.73 million of joint venture bike paths to be developed around the city over the next three years, among projects throughout the country.

The boost will also provide a 6km cycleway from Glen Innes to Tamaki Drive costing $24.6 million and will fill a long-awaited missing link in the Northwestern Cycleway by extending it up Ian McKinnon Drive to Upper Queen St.