Over 19,000 heavy vehicles use this part of Great South Road every week, which makes it one of the country’s busiest industrial arterial routes. High levels of commuter traffic are also being funnelled into Takanini from fast-growing suburbs and towns such as Papakura, Drury, and Pōkeno.

Along with more traffic lanes for truckies, tradies, commuters and families, Auckland Transport (AT) is also proposing high quality infrastructure for Takanini’s pedestrians and cyclists.

Papakura Local Board Chairperson Kelvin Hieatt is welcoming AT’s road optimisation plans and can’t wait for construction to begin.

“Great South Road is an important route for commercial vehicles that service our many industrial and retail hubs, and surrounding communities. We’ve got to make more space for them as well as families, their vehicles, and our bus services.

“In short, more lanes mean better flow and less time stuck in traffic.”

Takanini needs these roading improvements to keep ahead of rail upgrades

AT’s Group Manager of Road Network Operations, Chris Martin, says more traffic lanes must go in before the City Rail Link (CRL) opens, which will bring more trains and shorter journey times.

“This project will give Great South Road more room to keep traffic moving as there's more frequent trains.

"Six brand-new bridges are being built in Takanini to replace level crossings with safer new connections that keep people moving. Pedestrian bridges at Takanini and Te Mahia stations will open in mid-2026, this project helps future proof Great South Road as we build three new road bridges and a further pedestrian bridge in the coming years.

“If we do nothing in the meantime, the roads around the rail crossings will get congested more often, creating more disruption and delays on Great South Road.”

Our proposed plan will deliver the project in two stages:

Stage 1 (before City Rail Link opens)

Removing all on street parking, on-road cycle lane markings and installing “no stopping at all times” broken yellow lines along sections of the road will provide the additional space for moving people through this busy road in Takanini.

Manurewa-Papakura Ward Councillor Daniel Newman and Councillor Matt Winiata are supportive of these proposed changes.

"We make no apology for pushing for the removal of the on-road cycle lanes. The existing lanes are both unsafe and it contributes to traffic-slowing bottlenecks.

"Regional funding is being tapped because we have to get far more capacity out of our key road corridors, which means moving more people and freight through faster.”

Lane markings will be updated for two continuous traffic lanes for northbound traffic (towards SH1 motorway) from Graham Road to Manuroa Road and for southbound traffic (away from SH1 motorway) from Manuroa Road to Glenora Road.

Stage 2 (after City Rail Link opens)

Chris Martin says AT wants to usher in a myriad of improvements including new off-road walking and cycling paths to replace the old on-road cycle lanes.

“We’re creating them by widening and upgrading the existing footpaths on Great South Road into new shared paths for both pedestrians and cyclists. In some places, we’ll be repurposing grass berms in the space between footpaths and the roadside kerb into off-road cycle lanes that will run parallel to the footpaths.

“We also plan to extend broken yellow lines on the approaches to some busy intersections and side streets that will give drivers more unobstructed space to see pedestrians and cyclists crossing the street.”

AT is also proposing to install a push-button signalised crossing for cyclists and pedestrians around the intersection of Maru Road and Great South Road.

Other proposed upgrades are:

• Upgrading the Taka Street and Great South Road intersection to make room for two right-turn lanes from Taka Street to Great South Road.
• Removing the left-turn slip lane on Walter Strevens Drive.
• Adding advance stop boxes for cyclists and upgrading pedestrian crossings so that all four sides of the intersection have dedicated crossing spaces and signals.

So, what are the key benefits of all this work?

“We’ll have a much smoother traffic flow along Great South Road and there will be much more room to move,” says Mr Martin.

“Once we complete Stage 1, traffic on Great South Road will have two continuous lanes in both directions for almost the entire corridor between Manuroa Road and Glenora Road. The bottlenecks that currently happen because of parked cars and inconsistent lane spacing will disappear. Drivers will see smoother journeys with fewer stop-starts.

“After we complete stage 2, drivers heading for Great South Road from Taka Street will get another lane to turn right. Long queues from this side should happen less often, especially at busy peak times. Removing the left turn slip lane on Walter Strevens Drive will also make turning into Great South Road from this direction much safer.”

Safer walking and cycling facilities, better quality footpaths

AT’s Chris Martin says after the new shared path and off-road cycle lanes are completed in Stage 2, cyclists will have safer, better-quality space to travel separately from general traffic.

“And for pedestrians, footpaths that are now cracked or narrow will be rebuilt into wider, smoother shared paths they can use to walk to school, shops, bus stops, or just for recreation.

“Importantly, all these upgrades are within the road reserve. We don’t need to narrow or remove traffic lanes when building the new paths.”

New and safer places to cross the road

“The changes around Maru Road and Great South Road will provide another safe place for pedestrians and cyclists to get across Great South Road,” says Mr Martin.

“The bus stop changes we're making around Maru Road mean the crossing will benefit bus users too. Also, cyclists heading to the nearby train station can use it to cross Great South Road.”

Since the crossing is push-button activated only, traffic will only be held when there are pedestrians crossing the road, therefore it will have a minimal impact on traffic flow. 

Better quality, more accessible bus stops

“Finally, new bus stops replacing those by Manuroa Road and Taka Street will be located closer to many key destinations for customers, such as shops, churches, and medical offices.

“They will also be more evenly spaced between other stops along Great South Road, which will help make timetables more consistent and journeys more reliable and efficient,” he says.

Have your say on the future of Great South Road in Takanini

AT invites you to provide feedback on the proposed changes to the Great South Road corridor in Takanini at athaveyoursay.govt.nz. Feedback is open until 16 May 2026. 

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