Mill Road project shoved aside

The controversial widening and realignment of Mill Road in the Papakura/Alfriston district, has been hogtied once again.

Despite being on government and council agendas for a number of years and even being announced as ‘shovel ready’ in 2020, the Northern section of Mill Road will now be on a much smaller scale.

Instead, the South Auckland development package aims to expand investment in new train stations and in Drury transport upgrades which support releasing additional housing and connectivity with the stations.

In past years, Design & Build has published various plans for Mill Road and has seen these altered and retrenched, despite the route being a key link to the east and usually heavily congested at peak commuter times.

Then, in mid 2021, the Government announced a budget blowout had stalled (and, evidently buried) the long awaited four lane project. It is now expected to involve an upgrade of two lanes (instead of four) between Flat Bush and Alfriston tying into the existing urban Redoubt Road dynamic lanes.

There will also be targeted safety improvements between Alfriston and Papakura. The existing roading proposals for Mill Road and Papakura to Drury South, stage two (including a new interchange at Drury South) will be deferred.

Instead work is focused on providing three new rail stations, two in Drury and one in Paerata. The Papakura to Pukekohe rail electrification, SH1 improvements and a shared walking/cycling path between Papakura and Drury plus a new third main rail line in South Auckland are also going ahead (at this stage).

Construction is already underway on SH1 Papakura to Drury South, stage one (see story page 28). Work is also underway on the third main Rail Line enabling electrification between Pukekohe and Papakura.

About 275 workers are on these projects and a further 800 part-time and full-time jobs are supported on Waka Kotahi New Zealand Upgrade.

The Government has indicated that savings from the changes to Mill Road will allow investment in the transport upgrades to release housing and local centres in Drury in a way that supports the Government’s decarbonisation goals.

Infrastructure Minister, Grant Robertson, has said that the changes represented a “balanced approach”.

“Fully funding new estimated costs for every project (six in total) would have cost up to $6 billion extra on top of the original $6.8 billion, so instead we’ve taken a balanced approach with a mix of additional investment and a handful of projects being re-scoped while also keeping a lid on debt,” he explained.

Although the Government is confident in its decision to downgrade the Mill Road project, as it stands, this vital link to east Auckland, which was also seen as a way to relieve congestion on the Southern Motorway, may well continue to remain clogged at peak traffic times during the week.

Furthermore, with exponential growth occurring in Takanini – townhouses and terrace-style housing now covering a vast tract of land in the vicinity of Mill Road and adjoining Cosgrove Road – many residents fear the route may be more heavily used than ever.