Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency advises that State Highway 20B in Auckland will be closed over the weekend to progress safety improvement and road widening work.

The road is a busy arterial route to the airport and will be closed to through traffic from 9pm on Friday, 26 February to 5am, Monday 1 March between the Tom Pearce/SH20B roundabout and the SH20 Interchange. There will be detours in place.

Local residents and people walking and on bikes will have access and the Manukau Memorial Gardens, Colin Dale Park and Puhinui Reserve will remain open. The AirportLink electric bus service will also operate, though there may be delays at times. Passengers are advised to plan ahead and allow extra time for their journeys.

The closure will allow pavement work along the Waokauri Creek Bridge. It follows two similar weekend closures last November aimed at keeping the project on schedule after COVID-19 related delays, says Waka Kotahi National Manger Infrastructure Delivery, Andrew Thackwray.

“Closing the road at night brings an immediate safety benefit as it removes the risk for our crews of working alongside live traffic on a busy road. Safety is always our top priority.

“There are also huge efficiency gains in working back to back day and night shifts. Fewer vehicles on the road means we can work across the full width of the road. It also means we can have multiple crews and work areas at the same time.

“Working nights doesn’t suit every project, but the way that we are using these types of closures on SH20B shows we can achieve efficiency gains, time recovery benefits and cause less disruption during peak hours.”

The project is adding new priority lanes to allow bus services every 10 minutes between the airport, Puhinui and Manukau, making safety improvements, constructing two signalised intersections and a new shared path for people walking and on bikes. The new priority lanes and the shared path will open in April 2021.

The SH20B upgrade is part of a wider programme of works called the Southwest Gateway to improve travel choice around southwest Auckland and the airport. The programme is being carried out by Waka Kotahi, Auckland Transport and Auckland Airport.

For more on the project, see https://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/southwest-gateway/

Plan ahead for a safe, enjoyable journey. Keep up to date with:

• COVID-19 services update: nzta.govt.nz/COVID19
• Traffic updates: journeys.nzta.govt.nz/traffic
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• Twitter: twitter.com/WakaKotahiAkNth
• Journey planner: journeys.nzta.govt.nz
• Phone: 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49)

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