Steer clear of Parnell motorway roadworks

Motorists using Parnell's busiest streets are asked to avoid The Strand area because of the ongoing Grafton Gully motorway upgrade.

For the next three weeks, traffic using Ronayne St will be directed along the pay-and-display parking lane and the former left lane.

Ronayne St is a popular shortcut which connects The Strand with Beach Rd.

Motorists travelling along The Strand have had one lane in each direction. That ends today.

More than 20,000 motorists drive through The Strand each day but Transit stakeholder manager Tracey Haszard said delays were not expected because of the Anzac holiday lull.

"We're taking advantage of the quiet period as we're expecting lower than normal traffic. We are not expecting delays but it would be better for people to avoid the area as the less traffic there is, the better it is for us to get the work done."

The intersection of the two streets has been redesigned to allow traffic from Stanley St to travel directly to the Port.

The Ronayne St reconstruction will create a new left lane turning bay into the Strand, but the present right-hand turn will be banned.

Some pay-and-display parks on the eastern end of the street have already been removed to make way for the changes.

Drainage and water lines on The Strand will be moved before a new road is laid. The stormwater network will be connected to the newly constructed 85m x 10m stormwater tank buried alongside Stanley St.

The tank is designed to reduce and treat the contaminants flowing off the motorway in Grafton Gully before they reach the harbour.

All these worksites are part of the Grafton Gully project, a direct road link between the motorway network, Grafton Gully and the Port.

Transit regional manager Wayne MacDonald said once completed, the project will separate the heavy container trucks using the Port from local vehicles, hopefully easing traffic flows for all users.

For more information on the Grafton Gully project, phone 0800 863-733 or visit the information centre on the corner of Alten Rd and Stanley St.