Auckland Transport (AT) and the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) are collaborating to tackle congestion in Mt Wellington.

AT is planning to create new transit and heavy vehicle lanes on two major roads that feed vehicles to and from State Highway 1 (SH1) in the afternoon and is now seeking public feedback on the proposal.

The lanes will make travel quicker and more reliable for delivery vehicles, buses, and people carpooling, says AT’s Road Network Optimisation Manager Chris Martin.

“Our analysis shows that 11 percent of vehicles moving through here are heavy vehicles or trucks carrying goods, which is higher than normal in Auckland. It would be fantastic to get these vehicles that are essential to our economy out of traffic and moving more efficiently.”

“On Sylvia Park Road, the road is wide enough for us to add another lane, but this will require painting broken yellow lines on the other side of the road so that one or two parked cars don’t block the road for everyone else,” he says.

“On Mt Wellington Highway, we are at the point where we need to reallocate the lanes on both sides, so that we can improve productivity and essentially move more people through the same road space.

“These roads are already very busy with more people living and working in the area. We expect these roads to get busier once IKEA opens, so we’re planning now to get ahead of the congestion crunch,” Mr Martin says.

AT's proposals will link existing transit lanes on Great South Road and Atkinson Road and tie in with NZTA’s work.

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NZTA is currently making changes to improve the traffic flow onto the motorway and reduce congestion at the Mt Wellington Highway interchange. The improvements include expanding the current two-lane onramp into three lanes on the southbound approach to SH1 as well as converting the existing give-way controlled left turning southbound slip lane into a signalised pedestrian crossing. This will allow three lanes of traffic on the on-ramp to reduce the number of vehicles queueing on this busy road.

The motorway improvements will ensure that unless a pedestrian wants to cross the road, the slip lane will aways be green to allow a free-flowing left turn, plus a third on-ramp lane will let vehicle movement to continue even when double lane traffic is turning right from the south.

Auckland System Management (ASM) began construction works on the motorway improvements last month.

“The project's primary goal is to ease congestion at the Mt Wellington Highway interchange, particularly for those heading south to the SH1 motorway and improve pedestrian safety,” says Paul Geck, Alliance Manager, ASM.

Both AT and NZTA’s plans are designed to be implemented quickly for the 20,000 plus vehicles that use these roads daily. NZTA’s works are taking place at night and are expected to be complete in July 2025.

Ward Councillor Josephine Bartley is encouraging people to tell AT what they think of the proposal.

“AT’s job is to make the road network as efficient as possible. It’s good to see that AT and NZTA are working on this together and I am cautiously optimistic that this will help everyone spend less time in traffic in the evening.

“If you live in the area, work in the area, or travel through the area, take a look at what’s proposed and consider how it could improve the local road ecosystem,” she says.

Feedback is open on AT’s proposed changes for Keeping Mt Wellington Moving at haveyoursay.at.govt.nz until 8 June 2025.

About the joint AT and NZTA programme

The Auckland Network Optimisation programme (ANO) is an AT and NZTA partnership to make better use of the existing transport network by using roads more efficiently, managing congestion and moving more people and goods across the city safely and effectively. A core part of this is implementing special vehicles lanes, which include dynamic lanes, bus lanes, transit lanes and heavy vehicle lanes. These projects will bring improvements to existing state highways managed by NZTA, and local roads managed by AT to support economic growth outcomes.

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