Subscribe to RSSWellington St On ramp Opening Delayed
The Wellington Street motorway on ramp in central Auckland won’t now open until December 14.
The on ramp, which links the centre of the Auckland CBD with the northbound lanes of State Highway 1 before the Auckland Harbour Bridge, was closed in late August for construction work on the approach to the Victoria Park Tunnel and was due to re-open on Wednesday morning.
Although work to rebuild the on ramp has been completed, it will now open on December 14. This will allow Auckland Transport to install a pedestrian crossing across the ramp, primarily for safety of children from the nearby Freemans Bay School.
Although originally planned under the old Auckland City Council, the crossing had yet to be built when Auckland Transport assumed responsibility for the region’s roads on November 1.
State Highways Manager for Auckland and Northland, Tommy Parker, says the NZTA is happy to agree to the Auckland Transport request because the crossing will resolve long-time concerns for the safety of children who walk between the CBD and the school.
“Children have been known to weave among moving vehicles to cross the on ramp,” Mr Parker says. “It makes sense for us to work with Auckland Transport to get this potentially dangerous situation fixed before traffic starts using the on ramp again.”
He says the signalised pedestrian crossing can only be installed with the on ramp closed. The Victoria Park Tunnel project will therefore leave the closure in place until Auckland Transport has completed the task.
Mr Parker says the three-month closure of the Wellington Street on ramp has gone very smoothly and he thanks drivers for their cooperation. “The local road network appears to have coped extremely well with the additional traffic diverted from Wellington Street and some would say the traffic flows on the motorway have even improved.
“It could not have been achieved without the understanding and patience of the Auckland public, particularly the many North Shore people who used the on ramp as a quick exit from the CBD during the afternoon peak.
8 Comments
A raised platform would have done the trick too, if designed well. I hate this idea that signals will be the solution to our pedestrian-unfriendly environments.
Long waits will now be MANDATORY.
I mean in the future, when I walk there at off-peak times, I will be breaking the law by crossing the off-ramp if I don’t want to wait a long time for the pedestrian green, even if there are no cars coming at all!
“The local road network appears to have coped extremely well with the additional traffic diverted from Wellington Street and some would say the traffic flows on the motorway have even improved.
So why are we opening it again if having it closed improves the situation?
It was only ever supposed to be temporary anyway, until a flyover from Cook St was constructed.
@ Nick R - Please don’t tell Steven J
I agree with Nick and Others.. This on ramp should not have been there anyway and traffic should go via Fanshawe Street.
The entry is now even more of a nonsense being only 100 - to 200 metres from the NW/Port entry!!!
I have read that interchanges on motorway should be at no less than 5 - 10 kms. spacing. The mess on the London orbital M25 has been quoted as due to the excessive number of interchanges and Auckland is much the same. Half the on and off ramps in the Auckland system should be closed.
WE continue the problem with the motorway under construction at Hobsonville having ramps at Westgate, Trig Road, and then two at Hobsonville.
And what is the Transport Agency’s answer…….RAMP LIGHTS !!!£$?”:!!
Actually the Transport Agency’s answer is to expand the motorway through Victoria Park to seven lanes, so that the NW/Port link can have it’s own lane.
Ah, yes, the “loosen your belt” answer
Delay the opening for another 10 years if they like.
The traffic flow down that part of the motorway has been so much better since this on ramp closed especially entering from the North Western.