The old McClymonts Road Bridge over the Northern Motorway (SH1) will be demolished piece by piece over the next three months.

The large bridge spans will be dismantled slowly over a series of nights from Sunday, 21 June, as part of the Northern Corridor Improvements project.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency Senior Manager Project Delivery, Andrew Thackwray, says that people will notice a lot of activity in the area and they should take extra care.

“We’re advising people to keep their eyes on the road and not be distracted if they’re heading to Albany Station or the business area in the morning peak times.”

The Northern Motorway will be closed from 9pm until 5am between Greville Road and Oteha Valley Road most nights Sunday to Thursday, until the end of August.

Drivers are advised to plan ahead, follow the detours and look out for reminders on overhead and electronic signs.

The main work will take place in July with two 19 metre long beams to be removed each night by cranes on the side of the motorway. The 50 tonne beams will be cut in half and then placed on trucks. Crews will then return during the day to dig out the support walls.

The old McClymonts Road Bridge has been replaced with a new longer and wider bridge which was completed and opened last month. This now enables the motorway underneath to be widened with extra traffic lanes, including the extended Northern Busway and a new shared walking and cycling path.

The new McClymonts Road Bridge connects the community between Pinehill and Albany so people can walk, cycle and drive safely across the bridge and continue directly to their schools and to the nearby Albany Station and business area.

Mr Thackwray says the final stage of demolition will see the pier in the middle of the motorway lanes cut and taken down.

“Once the central and support piers are taken down, we will then start to build the new busway and retaining walls alongside the motorway.”

The large central median barrier will also be removed at this location.

The Northern Corridor Improvements project will provide a much-needed transport upgrade for the whole Albany and North Harbour community. It includes a new motorway connection between SH1 and SH18 and will open up access to the Western Ring Route and travel to the airport. It will extend the Northern Busway to Albany to deliver over 7kms of walking and cycling paths and a wide range of local road and park connections.

For more information visit www.nzta.govt.nz/nci or www.facebook.com/NZTAAkl or call the project freephone number 0800 624 776.

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