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Frequently Asked Questions
- Why is the project needed?
- What will the project look like?
- Why aren’t you putting an overbridge at Watkins Road?
- What impact will the severed roads have on local trips?
- When will the bypass be constructed?
- The Cambridge Bypass route designation was originally twice as wide as it currently is and then Transit let some land go. Why do you have to widen it again?
- Why are you only building two lanes?
- How do you propose to cross the Karapiro Stream Gully?
- What provision is being made for horses?
- Will the bypass cater for cyclists and pedestrians?
- What will happen to the bypassed section of the existing SH1 through Cambridge township?
- What compensation is being offered to landowners and occupiers whose land is being used?
1. Why is the project needed?
The Cambridge Bypass is needed to improve traffic flows and safety through Cambridge township, and to help shorten travel times between Cambridge and Auckland.
The existing SH1 alignment through Cambridge township carries over 20,000 vehicles per day and has a posted speed of 50km/h over a considerable part of its length. A large number of intersections also add to congestion and delays. The bypass will divert the high volume of through traffic, with its large number of heavy commercial trucks, away from the town and the narrow Karapiro Stream Bridge.
The bypass will:
- Reduce noise, vibration and atmospheric pollution
- Make it easier for people to access their homes and businesses on SH1
- Make access into and out of local roads easier
- Reduce hazards for pedestrians and cyclists.
- Reduce safety issues relating to the relatively narrow Karapiro Stream Bridge carriageway and its footpath on the existing SH1 alignment south of the town
- Reduce the hazard of the Karapiro Stream Bridge’s close proximity to the Shakespeare Street intersection.
2. What will the project look like?
The Cambridge Bypass will realign SH1 from Hautapu Road to south of the Cambridge Golf Course, a route of about 11km.The current proposal is for the bypass route to leave SH1 around the Discombe Road/SH1 intersection. It will run roughly parallel with Hautapu Road until it meets Victoria Road where it will make a sweeping right-hand bend before straightening to pass near the Thornton Road and St Kilda Road intersection. It will cross the Karapiro Stream Gully and then curve slightly left before rejoining SH1 at the top of the rise just south of the Cambridge Golf Course.
The Cambridge Bypass route passes north of Cambridge town and will include one or more passing lanes and an interchange at its northern end.
A grade-separated interchange where the bypass crosses SH1B at Victoria Road, about mid-way along the new alignment, may also be included. A third interchange is being considered to connect the southern end of the bypass to the existing SH1.
The project will include a crossing of the Karapiro Stream gully at its southern end. This is one of the most challenging parts of the project as the gully is about 45 metres deep and 200 metres wide, with very steep slopes.
The bypass will cut across a number of local roads. Transit and Waipa District Council have agreed on the local roads that will cross the Cambridge Bypass. Peake Road, Swayne Road and Thornton Road will cross over the bypass on overbridges. There will be no connection between these roads and the bypass. Discombe Road, Forrest Road, Hannon Road and Watkins Road will be severed, with no access over or under the bypass.
A general overview of the bypass is shown in this diagram.
3. Why aren’t you putting an overbridge at Watkins Road?
The proposal to cut across Watkins Road has been in the district plan for a long period and Cambridge has been developed in accordance with that.
Feedback related to the proposed cutting of Watkins Road will be considered by Transit as part of the consultation process.
When the Cambridge Bypass designation was confirmed in the early 1990s, it included an overbridge at Swayne Road and severed Watkins Road. This was confirmed in the Waipa District Plan in 1994.
Recent residential and infrastructure development (including the placement of the water reservoir) on land next to the Cambridge Bypass designation and Watkins Road is likely to make it difficult to provide an overbridge at Watkins Road.
4. What impact will the severed roads have on local trips?
A recent travel time survey has indicated that the bypass cutting across Discombe Road, Forrest Road, Hannon Road and Watkins Road will increase travel times for some residents. However, the removal of state highway traffic from Cambridge township, and its associated congestion and queues, is expected to make travel into town much quicker.
5. When will the bypass be constructed?
Construction of the SH1 Cambridge Bypass was indicated in Transit's current 10-year State Highway Plan and Forecast as starting between 2011 and 2016. This is subject to community consultation, Resource Management Act approvals, land purchase, and funding. Construction is expected to take three to four years.
6. The Cambridge Bypass route designation was originally twice as wide as it currently is and then Transit let some land go. Why do you have to widen it again?
The original bypass corridor was designated in 1973 at a nominal 100m width. This was reduced in 1991 to 40 metres because traffic growth forecasts at the time assessed a two-lane bypass as adequate.
The development of the Waikato Expressway strategy later in the 1990s demonstrated that a four-lane bypass would eventually be needed.
It has also become a requirement of safe road design to provide safety zones of clear space next to the road shoulder. Further width is needed because of the requirement for environmental mitigation, such as banks planted with trees and shrubs to filter noise, visual screening and stormwater control.
7. Why are you only building two lanes?
Two lanes will be adequate for some time, according to modelling of traffic flows. So Transit is planning an initial two-lane highway with the possibility of some passing lanes. Provision is being made to expand this into a four-lane highway as future traffic demand requires.
8. How do you propose to cross the Karapiro Stream Gully?
The Karapiro Stream Gully poses one of the most challenging parts of this project as it is about 45 metres deep and 200 metres wide with very steep slopes.
To cross the gully, the road will need to be elevated a considerable distance above the gully’s base.
Current options include a viaduct-style bridge and a large embankment with a culvert through the centre to carry the stream’s flow. The large embankment option will require considerable earthworks and subsequent careful management of environmental impacts.
Options are currently being evaluated and will be assessed against environmental considerations, construction effects and cost. Any work at the gully has to include provision to protect the migratory fish that inhabit the stream.
9. What provision is being made for horses?
Catering for horses and their riders will be the subject of public consultation and discussion with the Waipa District Council.
10. Will the bypass cater for cyclists and pedestrians?
Cyclists are expected to continue using the existing SH1 through Cambridge. However, sufficient road width will be provided along the bypass to accommodate on-road cyclists.
The removal of through traffic from Cambridge will improve the environment in the township for cyclists and pedestrians and will allow improved cycle and pedestrian facilities to be constructed.
11. What will happen to the bypassed section of the existing SH1 through Cambridge township?
The existing section of SH1 through Cambridge will remain as a local road, administered by Waipa District Council, to service Cambridge residents and businesses.
12 . What compensation is being offered to landowners and occupiers whose land is being used?
This is under negotiation and compensation is provided for in the Public Works Act. The Crown’s property agents, The Property Group, are in direct negotiations with landowners whose land is required for the Cambridge Bypass.
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