History of South Western Motorway

The South Western Motorway (SH20) has been under construction to connect to motorways in the north and south since the 1970s. From 1997 to the present the motorway has been extended in both directions from the original section in Mangere & Onehunga. The main purpose of the South Western Motorway is to provide connections to the Auckland Airport. Eventually when connected to existing motorways the South Western will be an alternative to the Southern motorway - completing the currently under construction Western Ring Route.

The first section of the South Western Motorway started construction in late 1977, the section was only a short approach to the old Mangere bridge bypassing the busy Onehunga area. The Mangere Bridge after a very long (and disruptive) construction process was completed in March 1983. It connected the already used Onehunga bypass to the newly completed crossing to create a total section between Neilson Street and Coronation Road of 1.8km at four lanes wide (two in each direction).

Recent activity:
- In 1997 the Coronation Road to Puhinui Interchange, and link to Kirkbride Road section was completed.
- The Mt Roskill Extension in May 2009 opened; extending from Hillsborough Road to Maioro Street in the north-west.
- In mid-2010 both the Mangere Bridge duplication & surrounding widening and the Manukau extension opened. Widening the existing motorway and bridge and connecting the 1997 section to the Southern Motorway respectively.
- One project on the South Western Motorway is still to be completed; the Waterview Connection between the Mt Roskill Extension and the North Western Motorway.

This project is one of the projects of the Western Ring Route. The Western Ring Route will offer a much needed alternative to the congested Northern and Southern Motorways. There are seven projects on this network with five now completed, the Waterview Connection and North Western Widening projects are yet to be completed.

The Waterview Connection Overview

Under construction | $2bn | Construction Period: 2012 to completion in early 2017

The Waterview Connection is the final part of the South Western Motorway (SH20 State Highway 20) extensions and improvements. It will be the most expensive and last section completed under the Western Ring Route project.

This project will incorporate 4.5km of bored tunnel and conventional surface motorway between the completed Mt Roskill Extension and the Waterview (Great North Road) interchange on the North Western Motorway (SH16).

There are only two interchanges along the route, one at Maioro Street and the termination interchange at Waterview. The motorway itself will be three lanes in each direction.

The project was granted Resource Consent on the 25th of May 2011. After a tendering process, on the 19th of August 2011, the project was awarded to a construction consortium called the 'Well Connected' group composing of Fletcher Construction, McConnell Dowell, Beca, Obayashi, PB New Zealand, and Tonkin & Taylor. This consortium will carry out the construction of the new motorway.

There are two other projects related to this project: the North Western Widening & Improvements will address existing network capacity and in the first half of 2011 the Maioro Street interchange was constructed (where the Waterview motorway will begin in the south).

There were two previous proposals for the Waterview Connection. Around 2007-2008 the expensive $2.89 billion fully bored tunnels, and in mid-2009 the revised cheaper option which affected more properties.

Schematic and renders of the project
Basic map layout of the project.	Detailed schematic images.	Flyover (video).

The above timeline is adapted from an NZTA publication is is an indicative timeline, it may change at anytime.

Detailed Sectional Information

Below is a section by section overview of the works that will occur in the respective areas. As the construction moves through the existing areas landscaping, road realignment, park creation and cycleway construction will occur. The first section below begins at the Maioro Street Interchange where the current SH20 South Western Motorway terminates.

The above images are from the NZTA, and have been adapted by AucklandMotorways.co.nz.

Purpose of the Waterview Connection

The purpose of the Waterview Connection is to link the already completed South Western Motorway (SH20) extensions to the existing motorways in the north and south: the Southern motorway and the North Western Motorway. Overall the Waterview Connection is the last motorway extension/construction in the Western Ring Route (WRR). The Western Ring Route will provide an alternative to the Southern and Northern motorways (SH1), bypassing central transport corridors.

One of the largest peak movements is a west-south movement, which the North Western motorway and Southern motorway provides through Spaghetti Junction and central areas. This movement interferes with straight through Southern and Northern motorway traffic and northern, central and eastern suburb traffic. By providing a western alternative west traffic is able to move south (and vice versa) without disrupting the southern corridor.

Above: The above graphic demonstrates the movements from the west to large employment areas in the south. East Tamaki industrial,
Onehunga Industrial and the Auckland Airport. While some traffic can move through the present Waterview/Mt Roskill area, most traffic follows the
North Western and Southern motorways to their destination.

On a macro level the purpose of the Waterview Connection is to provide easier access to the south and western suburbs/employment areas through a separate connection.

On a micro level the purpose of the Waterview Connection is to provide better through-access in the Mt Roskill/Waterview areas, which is currently a maze of residential streets, often at one lane in each direction and is frequently congested. With the Mt Roskill Extension completed the usage of these streets to access the South Western motorway has increased.

Poll results

As the project has been announced and is ready to begin, voting on the project has closed. A total of 2002 people voted in the poll and 91% of people that voted agreed with the project.

Comments or questions?

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From: Cath | About time is all that I can say! Living in Te Atatu and working in Manukau as been a nightmare for the past 3 years...Bring it on!

Comments below this point reflect questions and comments submitted regarding the mid-2009 proposal.

From: Ollie | I completely agree with Mike and Brad, and completely disagree with Ben. There should be an interchange at New North Road - Ben's comments that "they take up a lot more space" are typical of town planners who don't look toward the future.  There are already at least 365 homes going to be demolished, possibly many more. Why not do the job properly now? What's another few houses to get a roading system that works effectively into the future?  At the moment you either get off in Mt Roskill or at Waterview.  Neither option is useful for a vast number of people who live in Avondale/Blockhouse Bay/Mt Albert/New Lynn and beyond GIVEN that those ARE the only two options.  That's an awful lot of traffic that has only two options to take over several kilometres of motorway system. Ultimately it would only benefit those people passing through the area, not those actually living in the area of the motorway itself, as Mike alluded to in his comment. I personally like the idea of a connected motorway system as works so well overseas, but it needs to be effective for it to be worthwhile.

Answer From: Benjamin | I agree with your point about the Waterview Connection needing an interchange at New North Road, but I can also see why the NZTA have not included it. I agree that ‘would need more property’ is a poor reason, considering if the NZTA is taking enough in the first place they may as well include more to make the job worthwhile. But also the point I raised: ‘An interchange at New North Road ... would shorten the tunnel section provided’, is a significant issue. A shortened tunnel to make way for the interchange would have negative effects on the nearby river/creek. Also the tunnel portal would open closer to the properties around Powell street.
I agree with the importance of including an interchange at New North Road, but I see that the compromise of not including it is justified, as I have stated there is a well connected interchange at Maioro Street which has (upgraded) access to suburbs east and west of the alignment. Another point to note is that interchanges that are aligned close together, result in poor traffic flow.
I am not a town planner, I decided not to become one!

From: Marc | I absolutely agree with the Waterview Connection because it simply completes the link to the Northwest Motorway and the wider Western Ring Route, I can't wait to see the bulldozers, the machinery and the hard men and women get down to getting this vital project off the ground, all hats of to them.  For all those complaining they are just "anti-development, anti-economy, anti-everything" who have nothing better to do and say but complaint and throw garbage around.  This project affects all of New Zealand, this project is vital for the economy, for movement and for the flow of goods, services and people.The recent projects completed or underway is just amazing, they look good and modern, the Central Motorway Junction, Mt. Roskill Extension, Northern Busway, Victoria Viaduct, Newmarket Viaduct, Manukau Extension and Manukau Harbour Crossing, it's going to make Auckland and New Zealand a better place to be.  NZTA needs to get going with this, within maybe 2 years not over.  What's also good news I hear is that NZTA is thinking of after most of the major motorway projects is to begin on a Eastern Ring Route from the Port Section of the Central Motorway Junction all the way to SH2 close to the western side of Hauraki Gulf and also a complete diversion and alignment of SH18 around Kaipara Harbour to link with the existing SH12.  Let's get the Waterview Connection underway and finished.  Yes to Waterview, No to these "protesters".

From: Bruce | I think this new motorway extension will be great. It has been planned for years and it is well overdue. The reduced cost version is a wise decision.

From: Murray | As I leave Waterview every morning heading to the bridge I am in traffic for up to 10 minutes trying to get onto the North Western. Seems to me that this project may improve with the extension of the South Western [Waterview].

From: Brad | I have driven the Mt Roskill extension to Maioro twice now to get to Layard St and I was wondering the exact same thing as Mike, why not an intersection at New North Road? It took me 20 minutes today at 4pm from Sandringham Rd to get to Blockhouse Bay Rd along Tiverton and this is only the second day it has been open! Once more people find out about it the waits will be terrible. There really should be a full interchange at New North to get as much traffic as possible off normal surface streets.

From: Frank | I think its a good proposal. This is far more cost effective than the last proposal and will free up money for other vital projects. Yes it means more houses get demolished but sadly this is probably necessary. Whilst a twin tunnel option would have been nice, it just cost too much, especially in the current economic climate.

From: Mike | Why so few interchanges? Surely another interchange (at New North Road for example) would better serve the residents who are being required to make sacrifices so we can have this motorway.

Answer from Ben: One could see that the NZTA has not proposed another interchange on the Waterview connection because they take up a lot more space, and possibly for it to be connected require more property. The Maioro Street interchange is well connected to surrounding arterials including New North via Richardson Road, and the widened Tiverton Road via Blockhouse Bay road. An interchange at New North Road as per your example would shorten the tunnel section provided, and also require more surrounding land to have a 2 or 4 point diamond interchange.

From: Patrick | 1. I've read that they will be using land already designated for a "Rail Corridor".  The residents in the affected area have known for ever that this was the case, but I don't believe that this corridor was ever protected as a public road corridor.  Is this the case? 2. Who controls this designation - ACC/ARC or Ontrack? 3. If the government forces Ontrack to hand over the designation while also professing they will provide for future rail, wont they be shifting the home bulldozing onto Ontrack and consequently giving Public Transport a bad name? Too me this is very dishonest. 4. And the last question.  If this new re calculated proposal is now so much cheaper than earlier Transit efforts, most likely due to some ineptitude, then why not re look at Rosebank Rd? Surely the same ineptitude will be prevalent here.

Answer from Ben: 1. Protected rail corridors do not necessarily mean that they cannot be used for roading projects, the New Zealand Public Works act stipulates the ability to grab land for projects, and as long as space for rail is provided or built at the same time is considered. The Mt Roskill extension followed a designation for rail also, and the space to provide this has been provided on the northern side. 2. I am not sure who controls designation to the corridors that are saved for projects. But I do remember that the Eastern Corridor saved land was in possession of the ACC. The space reserved for the Manukau Extension was under the possession of the Ministry of Works (in turn Transit then NZTA). 3. Interesting relationship between land being handed over being owned by someone then what is built on it giving the original owner a bad name. I would not say that it would give Ontrack or a Public Transport outfit a bad name, as the company that owns the designation is legally obligated to hand the land over for NZ public works. Plus a compromise may be reached that if the land designation is handed over then the railway must be built, or foundations laid etc. For example with the Mt Roskill extension; if Ontrack wants to build the Southdown railway then all levels, bridges and pedestrian bridges have already been built for them, thus possibly in their best interests. 4. Possibly the Rosebank route may be cheaper now, but the NZTA have reviewed the Rosebank route twice since saying it won’t work, saying it won’t work again. So I assume there must be an overriding reason as to why this route is not being reconsidered.