Weeks of detours, delays ahead during Hillsborough works

Auckland commuters can expect several weeks' more misery at clogged intersections throughout Mt Roskill, even though the Auckland City Council says a good start has been made to key roadworks.

The closure to eastbound traffic of a kilometre of Hillsborough Rd, which normally carries about 40,000 vehicles a day, has caused widespread congestion as motorists scramble far and wide for alternative routes to work and school.

A detour along the Dominion Rd extension and up Richardson Rd is bumper-to-bumper with traffic in morning rush hours, adding pressure to roundabouts and forcing Stagecoach to bring old buses back into service to stop delays from cascading into central city routes.

Auckland City traffic and roading project manager Tony Kay said yesterday that $1.3 million of rebuilding and resurfacing along Hillsborough Rd had proved extra difficult because of localised pockets of weak and sensitive soils that needed shoring up.

But excavation work had been completed in just over a week along one side of Hillsborough Rd, and contractors hoped to put down the first of two structural asphalt layers tonight, after poor weather delayed plans to do that last night.

Mr Kay said that section should be ready to take traffic again early next week, when the other side of the road would be closed for excavations.

But he said not knowing how many more weak spots may be found and the extra sensitivity required for working near high-pressure gas and oil lines on the seaward side of the road meant it was too soon to tell whether the eight-week project would finish ahead of time.

That timetable also included rebuilding a section further along the road, between Goodall St and Olsen Ave, although this has four lanes so the council hopes the disruption to motorists is lessened.

Correspondents to the Herald have demanded to know why work is not generally being done at night, such is the strategic importance of Hillsborough Rd, but Mr Kay said the amount of testing and checking required at almost every step ruled out a 24-hour operation.

He said putting down layers of structural asphalt was more costly but faster than a more traditional method and worthwhile given the heavy use of the road.

Council network assurance manager Barry Williams said the quick progress by contractors meant the recommended detour had to be changed at short notice from Whitmore Rd to Dominion Rd and removed a need for urgent traffic management measures outlined earlier.