Auckland Mayor Phil Goff has welcomed the $182 million investment in ‘shovel-ready’ transport projects announced today by the Government.

The new funding will be allocated across four projects: the Puhinui Interchange and Stage One of the Ferry Basin Redevelopment - both already under construction - as well as improvements to the North Western Motorway and a new $37 million walking and cycling path connecting New Lynn and Te Atatū in West Auckland.

“These infrastructure projects will create lasting and valuable assets for Auckland. There is no better time to invest in projects like these than now, when we need to stimulate the economy to get out of the COVID-19 recession and to create jobs.

“Combined the new projects create around 800 new jobs in Auckland. They will also secure an additional 200 jobs because of the certainty this pipeline of work creates for the construction industry.

“This will also support housing intensification in key growth areas of our city like Auckland’s northwest, and open up more transport options to the growing employment and commercial precinct in the south.

“Along the North Western Motorway, interim bus interchanges will be built at Westgate, Lincoln Road and Te Atatū, supported by extensions to bus shoulder lanes. This will enable delivery of a fast and frequent bus service between Westgate and the City and is the first step towards a full rapid transit solution for this corridor.

“In the south, the new Puhinui Station Interchange already under construction will create a congestion-free link to the airport and its commercial precinct that will eventually connect with the Eastern Busway in Botany, creating new employment and educational opportunities in the south and east of our city,” Phil Goff said.

Planning Committee Chair, Councillor Chris Darby, said, “The Government’s ‘shovel-ready’ investment is a welcome shot in the arm for our city, which will create hundreds of new jobs while bringing forward public transport projects vital to reducing our carbon footprint and creating a healthier and more sustainable Auckland.

“The new Te Whau Pathway will deliver a stunning six kilometre shared path and boardwalk along the Whau River, providing a safe, enjoyable and carbon-free way for people to get to school and work, while the ferry basin upgrade will create a world-class terminal on Queen’s Wharf that will help resolve berthing bottlenecks and open up the way for Council to grow water transport connections to the Shore, west and out into the Hauraki Gulf.”

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