Glenvar Road and East Coast Road improvements Glenvar Road and East Coast Road improvements
We are preparing pre-construction designs for improvements to Glenvar Road and East Coast Road.
Project status: Detailed design
Project zone: North
On this page
Project overview
The Glenvar Road and East Coast Road project is designed to improve safety and provide better travel options for all road users. The corridor includes sections of East Coast Road (approximately 1km between Oteha Valley Road and Lonely Track Road) and Glenvar Road (approximately 2.1 km between East Coast Road and Ian Sage Avenue).
The proposed improvements include 2 signal-controlled intersections, separated cycleways, shared paths, transit lanes and traffic calming measures.
The Glenvar Road and East Coast Road project did not meet the criteria for funding in the draft 2018 to 2028 Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP). However, during consultation, we received many submissions from the community seeking reprioritisation in favour of the project. In response, we successfully petitioned to have the project included in the final 2018 to 2028 Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP).
The RLTP is a 10-year investment programme for transport in Auckland. It was developed by AT together with Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency and KiwiRail to respond to growth and transport challenges Auckland faces over the next decade.
The improvements include:
- Footpath upgrades
- Intersection upgrades
- Transit/bus lanes
- Cycleways
- Safety measures.
Benefits
- Transit / bus lanes will allow for faster, more efficient traffic flow.
- Intersection upgrades will allow for safer and more efficient traffic flow and improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists.
- Raised intersections slow vehicles to help prevent crashes and minimise damage if a crash does occur.
- Footpath widening will improve pedestrian accessibility and improve footpath connections.
- Cycleways and paths will make the road safer for cyclists.
Funding
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency has allocated $57 million from the Regional Land Transport Plan for this project. We must apply to access these funds at several stages during the process.
Funding of $2.7 million has been approved for the pre-implementation phase (detailed design and associated works). Once detailed design is complete, we will apply for additional funding for construction.
Timeline
- 2018 – AT develops strategic case for improvements
- 2018 to 2019 – AT develops draft business case for detailed design outlining proposed improvements
- November to December 2019 – AT seeks public feedback on the proposed improvements
- December 2020 – AT Board approves business case for detailed design
- July 2021 – Business case including public feedback is finalised and funding application is submitted to Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency
- November 2021 – Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency approves funding application for pre-implementation (detailed design) phase
- February 2022 – Tender period for detailed design contract closes
- March 2022 – early 2023 – AECOM develops detailed designs and AT applies for required consents
- Early 2023 – AT seeks Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency approval to proceed to construction
Project details
We developed the improvements based on an assessment of what will provide the greatest benefit to a growing community while staying within the available budget. We also took community requests on board and built on knowledge gathered from similar investigations and public feedback in 2012 and 2019. We investigated and rejected other options based on several considerations, including the available budget.
We requested community feedback on the proposed improvements from 8 November to 8 December 2019 and received 420 submissions. You can read detailed information on the feedback received and our responses to the issues raised in the public feedback report.
After considering all feedback received we made some revisions to the proposed design:
1. Remove the raised central median (raised barrier at the road's centre) on East Coast Road, between Glenvar Road and Glamorgan Drive.
Instead, we will place a flush median strip (a section of white diagonal lines painted in the centre of the road) with up to 3 raised pedestrian islands.
Download the map of flush median and pedestrian refuge island on East Coast Road (PDF 191KB).
2. Work through further changes to make merging into transit lanes safer.
Download the improvements to Glenvar Road and East Coast Road map (PDF 231KB).
June 2022 design updates
In June 2022, we made further amendments to the original design. 3D modelling undertaken as part of the pre-construction design process showed that we could not widen some parts of East Coast Road as much as planned without significantly increasing the cost and the time it would take to complete the project. It would also have a significant impact on properties on East Coast Road.
The new design retains 2 lanes in each direction and the separated cycleway and footpath improvements presented in the original upgrades.
The revisions to the original design are:
- A 3m-wide, 2-way cycleway on the eastern side of East Coast Road, replacing cycleways on both sides of the road
- Inside traffic lanes are slightly narrowed from 3.2m to 3m.
- Footpaths on both sides of the road will reduce slightly to 1.5m at some narrow parts of the road.
- The median in the centre of the road will reduce from 2.5m to 0.5m at some narrow parts of the road.
Original design
The cross-section of the original design proposed for East Coast Road.
Revised design
The cross-section of the new design proposed for East Coast Road.
The revised detailed plans are subject to Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency funding approval and budget. As such, the scope of what's proposed may change.
Next steps
A team of engineers, geologists, ecologists and designers will undertake the research and work required to deliver a detailed design, including mitigation plans for environmental considerations. We expect the design and resource consent process to be finalised by early 2023.
We understand the construction timeline is later than some would like. There are steps we must follow as part of the funding application and resource consent process.
Our key activities for 2022 are:
- Complete the detailed design (provided no further public consultation is required).
- Apply for and obtaining required consents.
- Consider internal reviews and audits of the design.
- Manage land acquisition (if required).
- Apply for final unconditional funding approval from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency for construction.
Our project team is working hard to expedite the design process. We thank you for your patience and support to date.