Motorists are bracing themselves for further traffic delays as more traffic lights are due to come operational in early April.
As part of the State Highway 22 (SH22) upgrade project, work began in early January to upgrade the intersection of SH22 and Great South Road to traffic lights, with the removal of the existing traffic islands at the intersection.
A NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) spokesperson said it acknowledged that full signalisation would introduce a delay to eastbound traffic on SH22 as a result of the signal controls.
“To mitigate this, the geometry was adjusted to include two eastbound lanes at the intersection to improve stacking capacity and clearance rates. The signalisation will also work to optimise movements and simplify the network operation when the intersection is used as a Stage Highway 1 diversion route, noting that the signalisation is an essential mitigation ahead of a future long-term closure of the northbound off-ramp at Drury Interchange.”
Further south, new traffic lights at the Bombay Interchange were switched on in the early hours of February 28, creating queues on Mill Rd that stretched at least 2km. Dozens of motorists took to social media to vent their frustrations over the added delays, especially at peak traffic times.
The spokesperson said the traffic signals have been installed at the Bombay Interchange in order to address growing safety concerns for those turning right from the off-ramps and the Bombay service centre.
“We’re keeping a close eye on the impact of the new traffic signals, and while traffic flows have improved from when the lights were first commissioned, Friday evening peaks remain a particular issue.”
When asked why traffic lights were chosen instead of roundabouts, the spokesperson said traffic analysis undertaken in 2021 recommended that the southbound and northbound off-ramps and the northbound on-ramp at Bombay Interchange should have traffic lights installed for safety reasons.
The analysis found that a roundabout would not have resolved the safety issues identified with the off-ramps. Investigations were later extended to include the Bombay service centre exit, which was experiencing similar issues. The installation of traffic lights at all three intersections was determined to be the most appropriate short-term solution to improve safety and enable congestion to be managed.
Back to the SH22 project, Victoria Street is often reduced to one lane ahead of an upcoming closure at its intersection with SH22. This was initially scheduled to be closed in late February to allow the realignment work to begin, and a new date has not been advertised. During the closure, access to the Drury sports complex will be maintained via the northern end of Victoria Street from Bremner Road.
The closure of this intersection will also affect the current Over-Dimension (OD) trucking route along Victoria Street, which will be temporarily diverted to the east of State Highway 1 (SH1) along Waihoehoe, Fitzgerald and Maketu Roads. Preparations along the OD detour route, such as tree trimming and relocation of low overhead power lines, were largely completed last year.
Once the traffic lights are completed and Victoria Street is reopened later this year, the demolition and ultimate replacement of the Bremner Road bridge over SH1 can start.
