PRIVATE Transport

[SYDNEY]

Glenfield Road upgrade finishes ahead of schedule

The final stage of Auckland Transport’s $40 million upgrade of Glenfield Road has been completed in 16 months - two months ahead of schedule. The four-stage project, of which the first three stages were completed under the former North Shore City Council, has resulted in increased traffic capacity and improved pedestrian and cycle safety along the busy arterial road. Now featuring two lanes in each direction, the widened roadway has helped to ease congestion for the 33,000 vehicles that travel along Glenfield Road every day – a figure that is expected to rise by about three per cent a year. Covering a one-kilometre stretch from James Street (south) to the Sunset Road intersection, the fourth and final stage of this major upgrade also involved:

· building 900 metres of retaining wall

· laying 20 kilometres of ducting and piping underground for utility service upgrades

· new 1.5-metre-wide on-road cycle lanes in both directions

· upgrading footpaths

· remedial works at the Wairau Road/Glenfield Road intersection to improve traffic flow and safety

· safer medians and pedestrian crossing points

· bus priority measures at intersections to improve travel times

· re-shaping of the Wairau/Glenfield shopping area car park

· new street lights and safety rails

· new fences, walls and driveways on private property

· road resurfacing

· landscaping

Auckland Transport and its contractor Fulton Hogan strived to complete the works as quickly as possible to minimise disruption to residents and motorists. The majority of road resealing work was completed over three weekends and at one point 17,000m2 of foam bitumen (used to create the road foundation) was laid in just 72 hours. The work also created a large number of job opportunities, with Fulton Hogan employing more than 500 people over the life of the construction project. Kaipatiki Local Board Chairperson Lindsay Waugh says Auckland Transport is delivering real benefits for the local area with the recent opening of the new Beach Haven ferry terminal and now the completion of Glenfield Stage 4 ahead of schedule. "The Glenfield Road upgrade is resulting in better traffic flows and improved pedestrian and cycle safety for residents,” she says. "The local board would like to thank Auckland Transport for delivering this significant project with the least possible disruption to the local community.”

[Hamish O]

Originally Posted by drosophila

I have never seen any issues with the St Lukes overbridge, why can't money be spent on projects that will actually make a positive difference to Auckland than simply widening, widening, widening. NZTA have really run out of ideas and because of the government's ridiculous funding restrictions have no choice but to waste hundreds of millions on low value, place destroying projects.

I have to disagree. In my (admittedly limited) experience that whole interchange is a mess, really short of the capacity it needs.

[drosophila]

Originally Posted by Hamish O

I have to disagree. In my (admittedly limited) experience that whole interchange is a mess, really short of the capacity it needs.

Building a bigger interchange will just result in even more traffic using it, I don't really see how that's an improvement? There are already traffic lights regulating the flow onto the motorway, I'm not sure how increasing the pipe prior to an intentionally narrowed flow onto the motorway does a thing except cost a lot of money.

[SYDNEY]

I think that there are hundreds of studies that prove that building bigger roads doesn't help with traffic flow but encourages more people to use them. As long as National is at the helm we can expect more and more money being poured into grander roading projects.