Environment and Urban Design

Environment

  • Native trees and shrubs will be planted along the route. Seeds will be eco-sourced from nearby areas and extensive planting will revegetate the motorway corridor and minimise maintenance.
  • Run-off from the motorway will be caught and filtered by sedimentation ponds. During construction, temporary ponds will be created at key sites in the work area. Other ponds will stay in place once the motorway has opened.
  • Limiting major earthworks to the summer months will help minimise the disturbance to the environment surrounding the motorway by reducing the risk of erosion and sediment run-off.
  • Noise walls and landscaped earth mounds will reduce noise from the new motorway affecting existing properties.

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Heritage Buildings

  • Five heritage buildings are to be removed and relocated along the path of the Hobsonville motorway.
  • Sinton House has been demolished as it could not be removed, and several cottages in the Clarks Lane area are to be relocated within the local area. Parts of Sinton House will be reused in the Sinton House Windows project in partnership with Waitakere City Council.

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Urban Design

The NZ Transport Agency is working closely with Waitakere City Council and the local community and iwi to incorporate urban design elements, including native planting into the motorway design.

SH16 Brigham Creek Extension – ‘The Green Route’

  • Running between Hobsonville Road and Brigham Creek Road, the Green Route will feature extensive planting of native flaxes along with ‘green walls’ planted with ferns, grasses, climbers and hanging plants. Stormwater wetlands will have plantings of reeds, flaxes and cabbage trees to maintain and enhance the natural environment.

SH18 Hobsonville Deviation – ‘The Gallery Route’

  • Running between Hobsonville Road and Squadron Drive, the Gallery Route will feature plantings of manuka and totara.

Sinton House Windows

  • In an initiative led by Waitakere City Council, a major artwork by Waitakere artist John Radford will take pride of place alongside the Clarks Lane Bridge. It will incorporate some of the original windows from Sinton House.

Clarks Lane Bridge

  • A two metre wide cable-stay footbridge for pedestrians and cyclists will give access over the motorway. A 24 metre high central pier will hold the cables and form a gateway structure for motorists entering Waitakere City from the North Shore.

Ribbon walls

Where noise walls are required to limit the effects of motorway traffic on surrounding businesses and residences, they will be painted a burnt orange colour.

Designation conditions

For more detail on the designation conditions applicable to the SH18 Hobsonville Deviation and SH16 Brigham Creek Extension motorway projects, please view pages 29-68 (PDF 2.95MB) of the linked pdf.