Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency advises that SH16 will be reduced to one lane for several nights at Kumeū Bridge to allow geotechnical drilling, starting on Monday 15 February.

The westbound lane over the bridge will be closed between 8:00PM and 5:00AM for at least five nights so the drill rig can set up and operate on the road. There will be stop/go traffic management in place and a temporary speed limit of 30kmh either side of the lane closure.

“The testing will be undertaken at night to minimise disruption to traffic on this busy section of SH16. We ask road users to be patient, allow extra time for their journey and keep to temporary speed limits to ensure the safety of our road crews,” says Waka Kotahi Acting National Manager Infrastructure Delivery, Rod James.

“The stop/go operators will monitor any traffic queues to make sure delays are kept to a minimum.”

The test drilling is part of geotechnical investigations started in December along the SH16 road corridor to inform the design of safety improvements between Brigham Creek and Kumeū. Further surveys will be carried out on private land along the corridor in coming months.

“The surveys tell us a lot about the type of rock and soil in the area and where there is underground water, which helps the design of the route and how we manage and mitigate the impacts of the project,” says Andrew Thackwray.

The project is happening in two stages, with this work part of Stage Two.

Safety improvements between Brigham Creek and Kumeu will include flexible road safety barriers, a flush medium to create safe space for turning vehicles, extra lanes between Brigham Creek and Taupaki roundabout to improve capacity and travel times and an upgrade at the SH16/Coatesville Riverhead Highway intersection.

A new shared path between Kumeū and Brigham Creek for walking and cycling will connect into the wider Auckland cycling network and provide more travel options for the community.

The SH16 Brigham Creek to Waimauku project aims to improve safety and capacity along this busy route in the near term, while Waka Kotahi works with Auckland Transport and Auckland Council on longer-term investigations to address future growth and congestion in northwest Auckland.

For more on the project see https://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/sh16-brigham-creek-and-waimauku/

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