If you’re driving around Auckland City this weekend be prepared to face serious delays on and around the Newmarket motorway viaduct. The Newmarket viaduct will be shut down this weekend to all southbound cars. It’s not great news considering it’s Father’s Day this Sunday, so if you have a family engagement to attend – choose your route carefully.
Transit New Zealand says that this Sunday’s closure is likely to hit 80,000 cars. Southbound lanes will be closed all weekend (September 4 and 5) as the first major step in the $215 million viaduct 
upgrade project.
This weekend’s road works action is all about keeping the southbound lanes shut for 36 hours while the newly built section is prepared for use from next Monday (6 September). Some on-ramps in the area will be closed too, including Hobson and Khyber Pass as motorway management attempts to limit the traffic getting around.
So what’s in it for me, you might ask? Well, from Monday the Newmarket viaduct will have four southbound lanes meaning traffic should flow better through the area.
The Newmarket Viaduct replacement work has been frustrating Aucklanders since June of last year but will ultimately lead to the southbound section widened to four lanes and the northbound section stay the same with three. The entire project is scheduled for completion in 2012.
If you want to learn more about the changes to the Newmarket Viaduct, click here to visit the NZTA website.
