We had a meeting recently with our NZTA contacts, and a few items were raised that will be of interest if you cycle on the NW Cycleway:
At the Te Atatu Interchange, all construction work should be finished around Feb-March. This also makes March the latest we should see for the opening of the last bit of cycleway towards Lincoln Road / Central Park Drive, as well as the second big underpass towards Te Atatu Peninsula, onto Titoki Street.
The still-closed cycleway from Te Atatu towards Central Park Drive / Lincoln Road.
At Patiki Road, digging is still continuing with the new cycleway underpass also still taking a few weeks at least.
Patiki Road underpass coming along…
Also in the Patiki to Rosebank section, the power supply cable for the Waterview tunnels is being fed through, which involves re-exposing ducting under the cycleway surface, especially near Greenstuff/Autex – and this in turn means a narrowed passageway for a day or two, and then some temporary asphalt until the concrete can be re-poured. Take extra care in this area over the coming week, keep an eye out for the works, and ring your bell for the lollypop people.
Near Waterview, the bridge section with the wooden boards will get a mesh surface soon, hopefully this week, to reduce slipping risks. As you may have heard already, this isn’t going to be the actual cycleway section itself – it’s a viewing/fishing platform. The cycleway will get a normal surface. It’s just a bit disappointing that the slip risks on the viewing deck surface used as a temporary route were not considered from the start.
The boarded section isn’t the final cycleway – but please take care on the slippery surface for now!
Over at St Lukes,we have asked NZTA to look into fixing the big “ski jump” on the cycleway just west of St Lukes Rd. (This is separate to the nearby work the current contractor is doing, as that part of the cycleway is not intended to be rebuilt by the current works.)
The (in)famous ski jump west of the St Lukes Interchange. Looks tame, but feels more like a mountain bike jump at speed.
Also at St Lukes, we’ve mentioned to NZTA that we are very, very keen to keep the automatic “cyclist green” across the interchange. Not having to press a button to cycle across – like a car driver! – makes you feel a lot more respected (an underpass here would be even better of course). So we wanted to make sure that this feature stays in the new signals programming, once the works are completed, because as far as we know it’s pretty unique across Auckland.
Last of all – the end of that extended detour through the back streets of Western Springs is getting nearer! Roll on the end of February, we say.
The Interchange is still a major construction zone, but the end is almost in sight…
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