The NZ Transport Agency’s commitment to getting Auckland moving has been boosted with the signing of an Alliance contract with two construction and two design companies to build the Northern Corridor Improvements Project (NCI Project).

The contract signing is a significant milestone in the history of the project to create a new connection between the Northern Motorway (State Highway 1) and State Highway 18 as well as extending the Northern Busway to Albany.

The NCI Project Alliance, comprising the NZ Transport Agency, Fulton Hogan, HEB Construction, Opus and Jacobs is now tasked with finalising the detailed design and gearing up for construction next year.

The NCI project will build a new motorway connection between SH1 (Northern Motorway) and SH18 (Upper Harbour Highway) to complete the Western Ring Route, upgrade Upper Harbour Highway, add new motorway lanes to SH1, build an extension of the Northern Busway and add more than 7kms of new walking and cycling paths.

“The project is an important link in helping to realise the full benefits of the Western Ring Route by giving people an alternative route to State Highway 1 and the Auckland Harbour Bridge. It will also create better travel choices for walkers, cyclists and users of public transport,” says the Transport Agency’s Senior Manager Project Delivery, Chris Hunt.

The Alliance will set up a main site office on the North Shore and has started recruiting for more than 150 new roles including surveyors, engineers, safety advisors, machine operators, drainlayers, carpenters and general construction field staff, says Mr Hunt.

More than 150 people attended an inaugural community open day this month and more meetings with affected property owners and businesses are planned starting early next year. The alliance’s Community Engagement team will keep the local community informed of all temporary traffic management and construction mitigation measures.

The first steps towards construction will include road resurfacing and the installation of moveable median barriers. There will be changes to lanes, which includes making them slightly narrower to allow for construction work to take place safely within the existing corridor. Construction sites and fencing will also be established, before the main work gets under way in the middle of the year, says Mr Hunt.
The project will be undertaken in stages over the next three years.

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