Project Details
Albany to Puhoi Realignment B2 (ALPURT B2) - Northern Motorway extension project |
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| SH1
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| From Grand Drive in Orewa on Auckland's North Shore to Titford's Bridge, just south of Puhoi some 7.5km to the north.
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| Purpose: | State Highway 1 between Auckland and Northland is an important strategic transport link. A major upgrade became essential because of increasing urbanisation within the Rodney district and rapidly expanding urban and industrial developments in Albany.
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| EstimatedCost: | $365 m |
| Start Date: | December 2004 |
| End Date: | Early 2009 |
| Location: | From Grand Drive in Orewa on Auckland's North Shore to Titford's Bridge, just south of Puhoi some 7.5km to the north.
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| Interesting Facts: | The existing highway is subject to high traffic demand and has a poor safety record with substantial queuing occurring during holiday periods. The solution is the Albany to Puhoi realignment or ALPURT for short, which is the largest single roading project undertaken to date in New Zealand.
When complete, Sector B2 of the Northern Motorway extension (ALPURT B2) will be New Zealand's first state highway to be operated as a tollway. This is due to the fact that under current funding criteria, the project was not considered a national priority for public funding. The New Zealand Transport Strategy, outlines the five priority areas for allocation of the National Land Transport Fund as severe congestion, public transport, walking and cycling, regional development and alternatives to roads, and safety. Consistent with this policy, congestion affecting commuter business traffic is given higher priority than congestion affecting weekend and holiday traffic. On this basis, ALPURT B2 as a non-tolled road was ranked significantly lower on the national priority list for public funding than it had been previously. It was unlikely that full public funding for the construction of ALPURT B2 would have been available within the next 10 years. Progressing ALPURT B2 as a toll road under the Land Transport Management Act 2003 was the best way of providing certainty about the timing of its construction. It was a means of bringing forward construction of the road to its earliest possible start date, unlocking the economic and social benefits for the region a lot sooner than would otherwise be possible. Construction began on ALPURT B2 in December 2004, following the Cabinet decision to approve tolling of the new motorway. |
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| PDFFile: | Download |