There seems to have been a lot of progress on the Panmure section of the AMETI project in recent times, and that progress has continued with today’s announcement of a preferred contractor to construct the first section of this project:
Auckland Transport has awarded a contract for one of Auckland’s biggest transport construction jobs, a $180 million project to start dealing with traffic congestion in the eastern suburbs.
Construction of phase one of the Auckland Manukau Eastern Transport Initiative (AMETI) Panmure project has been awarded to Fletcher Construction. Starting in January and continuing until 2014, it will be Auckland Transport’s largest construction project and include:
- A new bridge built on Ellerslie Panmure Highway for a future busway and the existing bridge replaced. The process for managing traffic while the bridges are built will follow the successful model followed at Newmarket Viaduct, with traffic moved to new bridges as they are built. The bridges will be higher and longer to allow for electrification, a new road and a possible future third rail line.
- A 1.5km new road linking Morrin Rd to Mt Wellington Highway and a 220m tunnel for the new road built next to the rail line at Panmure Station. This will be created by building a box with a new road on top for buses and taxis to stop at the station.
- A major upgrade of Panmure Station to create an interchange that allows easy transfers between trains and buses improvements for pedestrians and cyclists and space for future town centre development.
The 1.5km new road is necessary to reduce traffic flows through the Panmure roundabout and provide a better route for freight/business traffic. This will also provide benefits for the Panmure community. When complete in 2014 the new road will take some pressure off the roundabout to allow work on phase two of AMETI Panmure – construction of a new signalised intersection where the roundabout currently is and a urban busway to Pakuranga.
Work is already underway on replacing the Mountain Rd Bridge near Panmure Station and realigning part of the road. The old bridge over the rail line will be demolished on Boxing Day for construction to begin on the new bridge.
The map below shows the extents of the different stages of the Panmure part of AMETI:
Over the next few months we’ll be seeing the consenting process for the AMETI Road (effectively a last chance for the public to change things), and then construction will kick into action on the main part of stage one in early 2012 (for the Panmure interchange) and then early 2013 (for the AMETI Road).
I’m certainly looking forward to seeing work on the Panmure public transport interchange advance – hopefully in a way that ensures the phase two busway actually happens.
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I know it’s unlikely to have been feasible in any other way, but I am worried that the project is so front-loaded with roading. Only once we have plowed all that money into building more car capacity can we look at improving buses, and removing that horrid roundabout. I just hope ALL phases of the project proceed as planned.
Ah well, Council has just decided to come up with the money themselves to tide NZTA over. NZTA can hardly cut our subsidies if they don’t GIVE us subsidies.
Feeling cynical today, probably shouldn’t. It’s a good project. Fingers crossed.
The biggest and ugliest roading aspects of AMETI are in much later phases. As long as we get the busway phase done I will be happy.
Err, Josh, looking at the map above the busway is last. 2014, after the bloody great road. Plenty of time to get delayed, watered down, or killed.
There’s a lot more to AMETI than its Panmure section. I am talking about projects like the Reeves Rd flyover and duplicating the Pakuranga bridge.
Ah yes, forgot about the flyover… all the rage these days….