NZ Transport recently offered a stunning visual flyover of the final, major part of the NZ SH1 motorway project, which is expected to be finished before Christmas 2021.
Just a couple of weeks before the country went into lockdown, New Zealand Transport Agency confirmed that the $384 million Huntly section of the Waikato Expressway had opened.
Following on from the opening of the Huntly bypass, and similar to the flyover of the new section of road, last month a new 11-minute flyover was released of a new $607m, 21.8km section of road still under construction that bypasses Hamilton, linking the new Hamilton motorway to the east side of the city and rejoining the new 110km/h-speed-limit Cambridge motorway that opened in December 2015.
The Hamilton section commences at the Lake Road junction with the Ngāruawāhia section in the north. It then runs south, to the east of Hamilton, connecting to the existing Tamahere interchange deviation just south of Hillcrest.
The Hamilton section will connect the Ngāruawāhia section of the expressway; reduce traffic congestion and improve safety on Hamilton’s local road network by significantly reducing through traffic. It also stands to reduce transit time through Hamilton between 15 mins off-peak, and save up to an hour during peak times.
The Waikato Expressway will improve safety and reliability and reduce travel times and congestion on SH1 by delivering a four-lane highway from the Bombay Hills to south of Cambridge. The expressway is being built in seven sections, with the final three including Hamilton currently under construction.
The entire Waikato Expressway is due to be completed in 2021 and runs 102km from the Bombay Hills to south of Cambridge.
As part of the roads of national significance, the Southern Corridor Improvements Project covers the stretch of Southern Motorway (SH1) from the SH20/SH1 connection at Manukau down to Papakura in the south. The Project includes additional lanes in both directions, upgraded Takanini Interchange and a 4.5km shared use pedestrian / cycle path.
