Project updates Project updates
October 2014
McCorquindale Lane
McCorquindale Lane was the last step in the New Lynn transit oriented development. This is a new shared space connecting Totara Avenue with McCrae Way.
The ‘Riccochet Bar’ building was demolished to provide a bright and spacious area with concrete paving, street lighting and street planting.
There's now improved access between McCrae Way, Totara Avenue and the shopping mall. The development is expected to boost commercial activity in the area.
The project was completed on time and below budget.
26 March 2013
Updated parking guide for New Lynn
- Download the parking guide (PDF 360KB)
Auckland Transport has produced an updated version of the New Lynn Town Centre Parking Guide. The guide helps people identify where they can park around the town centre and includes the new McCrae Way multi-level public car parking building.
Copies of the parking guide are also available in the New Lynn Library, New Lynn Community Centre and from many businesses around the town centre.
Road surfacing night works on Great North Road
20 March 2013
Downer NZ has been contracted by Auckland Transport to complete the streetscaping of Great North Road, New Lynn. As we near completion of this main street upgrade, final road resurfacing work is required along Great North Road between McCrae Way and Memorial Drive.
To minimise disruption to traffic, this work will take place at night.
Currently, night works are planned to take place over two nights: Tuesday 26 March and Wednesday 27 March 2013 between 10pm and 5am.
Please note that timeframes for the completion of the work may change or be delayed due to unforeseen circumstances and/or weather conditions. This type of work does require large machinery and trucks to manoeuvre within the street, so temporary traffic control will be set up. For your safety and that of our workers, we ask that you take care when moving through the site and adhere to any traffic management measures that are in place.
Traffic controllers will be on site to assist with vehicle and pedestrian movements as required. Access ways may be affected but Downer NZ is committed to minimising disruption wherever possible.
New Lynn Merchant Quarter's day of celebration
9 March 2013
An open day to celebrate the completion of New Lynn’s new Merchant Quarter precinct is being held on Saturday 9 March by Auckland Council and Auckland Transport.
The new Merchant Quarter will be the heart of metropolitan New Lynn, a vibrant centre where people can work, do business, shop and be entertained. It features a medical centre, public carpark and upgraded roads and from 10am to 1pm on Saturday will be alive to the sound of families enjoying bouncy castles, balloons, face painting, sausage sizzles, stalls and a new bike giveaway.
“We know the redevelopment work in New Lynn has been challenging for business owners, shoppers and workers and now it’s time to thank people for their patience and celebrate what can only be described as a fantastic end result,” says Mayor Len Brown.
“I encourage everyone to come to New Lynn on Saturday and have some fun, while celebrating a major success on our road to becoming the world’s most liveable city. The vision in the Auckland Plan identifies New Lynn as a priority growth area and there’s no denying New Lynn is a huge success.”
The free activities will run in the new McCrae Way, Auckland’s newest shared space street and the second to be built in New Lynn.
Summary of work done in the last few weeks
4 March 2013
During the last week few weeks, we:
- completed surfacing work along Memorial Drive between Great North Road and Delta Avenue;
- completed kerb and channel along Delta Avenue north side;
- completed work on Delta Avenue pavement and Delta Avenue car park pavement;
- completed tree pits on Delta Avenue north side;
- completed 90% of footpath along Delta Avenue north side;
- commenced planting of tree pits and rain gardens along Great North Road and Delta Avenue;
- completed tie-in for carriageway at Great North Road and Delta Avenue.
Access and parking at Delta Avenue reopens
1 March 2013
Access to Delta Avenue and parking has now re-opened. Thank you all for your patience during the road pavement and footpath construction work. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.
During the next fortnight, starting March, 4 we will:
- continue work on Delta Avenue footpath
- continue rain garden modifications and installation of street furniture
- complete work on all speed tables
- complete all Street light installation and activation
- complete traffic signage and street marking
- complete Delta Avenue Triangle pavement works
- complete Totara Avenue signal decommissioning
- complete work at McDonalds driveway access
- repair Asphaltic Concrete (AC) road layers where required
Partial closure of Great North Road and Delta Ave
16 November 2013
Closure from 7pm Tuesday 20 to 6am Friday 30 November 2013.
Auckland Transport and its contractor Downer are due to start major reconstruction of Great North Road, New Lynn, between Totara Avenue West and Memorial Drive. A 10-day road closure is required for westbound traffic only to complete a major rebuild of old and failing road foundations and lay a new surface. Works will take place seven days per week, day and night. Note: heavy rain may extend this period.
The closure allows Downer to complete the works significantly faster than if they were reconstructing the road with traffic moving in both directions. This means less construction time and disruption overall.
Great North Road's intersections with Totara Avenue and Memorial Drive will be closed to westbound traffic. However, westbound traffic can still access LynnMall or Great North Road businesses between Veronica Street and Memorial Drive. Other westbound traffic will be diverted right or left onto Veronica Street.
City-bound traffic may continue along Great North Road as normal and make right turns into Totara Avenue, McCrae Way and the McDonald's entrance. Pedestrian access will be maintained to all Great North Road businesses throughout the construction period.
Memorial Drive to be temporarily closed
1 October 2013
Reconstruction work will close Memorial Drive between Delta Avenue and Great North Road between Sunday 7 October to Friday 10 November.
Due to the nature of the work, parts of Delta Avenue will become a one way traffic system for the duration of the project. This will be in effect from the Hugh Brown Drive corner toward the Delta Avenue service lane ONLY. This is necessary for works to be completed in the fastest time possible. Detours have been set up using Veronica Street to minimise disturbance.
The road construction involves the use of large machinery so people may experience some travel delays as a result of the works. All work areas will be signposted for public safety, with safety barriers and fences used to isolate people from the work area.
Generally, the road construction will take place between the hours of 7am to 7pm, however some night work may be required to ensure that the works be completed. In that case those affected will be notified in advance. Noise levels will be monitored to ensure they are within acceptable limits. Memorial Drive will remain closed in the construction area for 24 hours a day.
The work is weather dependent so wet weather may extend the proposed completion date.
Mayor Len Brown visits New Lynn transport projects
September 2012
Mayor Len Brown recently made a walking tour of the New Lynn CBD to look at the three construction projects underway in the town centre, including Auckland Transport’s upgrade of Great North Road and Delta Ave and the creation of a new shared space street on McCrae Way.
The mayor also braved a crane lift to get an aerial view of New Lynn’s transformation, which also includes a new multi-storey commercial centre and parking building being built by Auckland Council and Infratil Ltd opposite the New Lynn transport interchange.
The commercial premises will include a large new medical centre, which will open out onto the McCrae Way shared space. Both are expected to be completed by the end of the year. The Great North Road and Delta Ave upgrade is expected to be completed by early 2013.
Awards for overbridge
September 2012
New Lynn’s Transport Interchange project has won another two awards with the Clark Street Extension overbridge winning two categories in the Resene Colour Awards.
The colours were chosen by Auckland Transport contractor Architectus who told judges that they wanted to transform an otherwise utilitarian roading structure into an energising urban landmark.
The 300-metre long bridge now features a "rhythmic sequence of colours that provide a visual screen to adjacent residences".
New canopy for New Lynn Rail Trench
6 September 2012
The project to install additional weather protection canopies over the stairwell and platforms at New Lynn Station is progressing well and should be completed by September.
High numbers of commuters using New Lynn Station led Auckland Transport to fund additional shelter at platform level
Much of the work has been done at night to minimise disruption to rail passengers and New Zealand Strong, which is installing the suspended canopies, says 95 per cent of the steel work is now in place and 60 per cent of the glazing is done.
The first canopy between Memorial Bridge and the current platform canopy will be open in the next few days and others are already providing shelter from the rain as they near completion. The suspended structures allow free pedestrian movement and easy access across the station.
First stage of McCrae Way completed
The first stage of Auckland Transport’s McCrae Way upgrade has been completed, opening up the western end of the development to the public. The completion of the first half of the McCrae Way redevelopment provides a new panelled concrete road surface, seating, trees and attractive landscaping, as well as new and upgraded utility services underground. It also opens up more than 50 easily accessible parking spaces behind the retail shops on Great North Road and Totara Avenue.
New Lynn residents and shoppers are encouraged to continue supporting Great North Road retailers throughout the construction period. P60 parking spaces are available on Great North Road next to the work zone, so motorists can still access the main road shops without having to parking on other streets.
These are signposted and dedicated people are on hand to direct motorists to the available parking spaces. Shops are open for business as usual and footpath access is being maintained at all times.
New Lynn super park gets tick from super city
Auckland Council has confirmed its Long Term Plan (LTP) funding of $5.7million for a new urban park in New Lynn, an area identified in the Auckland Plan as a metropolitan centre and priority growth area.
The plan (LTP) 2012-2022 will be officially adopted by the council on 28 June and the money will go towards a new centerpiece park in New Lynn’s development precinct of Crown Lynn; it is on the original site of the famous pottery works.
This development will make the single biggest contribution to residential growth within walking distance of the award winning New Lynn transit interchange.
New Lynn transport interchange wins top New Zealand architecture award
The New Zealand Architecture Awards honour the best architecture produced in New Zealand during the programme year, with entries shortlisted from the Local Architecture Award winners announced in 2011.The New Lynn Transport Interchange is the winner of the 2012 New Zealand Architecture Award for Planning and Urban Design Excellence.
Judges were impressed by the state-of-the-art, two-storey interchange, which includes rail tracks and platforms below street level and a foyer, waiting area, ticket office and bus station above. Designed by Architectus and Brewer Davidson Architects, the modern station also includes a number of integrated art works.
“Designed as a hub for a catchment area benefitting from improved public transport, the transit-oriented development also performs a welcome place-making function in a part of Auckland ill-served by a generation of car-focussed planning,” judges said.
“By lowering the rail track beneath road level, the architects have untangled local infrastructural knots and provided ample space for a user-friendly platform. A successor to the noble tradition of railway architecture, this project is a beacon of quality in a sea of indifferent buildings and a benchmark for future development.”
Since opening in September 2010, New Lynn’s modern transport interchange has won multiple awards from a variety of national bodies, including the New Zealand Institute of Architects, the Association of Consulting Engineers and the Property Council of New Zealand.
New parking next to community centre
Thirty-six new carparking spaces are now available on land at 19 and 23 Totara Avenue.
The P240 spaces can be accessed from the lane next to Hell’s Pizza on Totara Ave West.
The new parking area will also provide extra parking during events at the neighbouring New Lynn Community Centre, which lost some parking spaces when the Clark Street extension was built in 2011.
New cycle safety measures on Clark Street
Auckland Transport has installed new cycle safety measures on Clark Street in the form of raised lane markings and flexible bollards.
The innovative treatment clearly marks the edges of the cycle lane and is aimed at keeping vehicles out of the cycle lane and protecting cyclists from being knocked off their bikes along this busy New Lynn arterial route.
The raised cycle lane delineators have a curved cross-section and stand about 25mm above the road surface. The curve is safe for cyclists but causes a judder-type effect for motorists. They have been laid for a length of 60 metres along Clark Street, finishing at the cycle stop box at the Clark St/Rankin Ave intersection, where a row of six flexible bollards (see inset picture) provide a physical safety barrier for stationery bikes.
Poppy wall relocated
The large poppy wall previously located in Memorial Square has been relocated to the front of the New Lynn RSA.
The concrete wall – designed by west Auckland artist Susannah Bridges in 2005 as part of the New Lynn War Memorial Library development - had to be moved to allow for the redevelopment of McCrae Way and to provide better access to Memorial Square and the entrance of the new medical centre currently under construction.
Measuring about 9.5m long and three metres high and weighing about 30 tonnes, the wall was lifted by a large mobile crane.
The New Lynn RSA says it is delighted to have the poppy wall as a new feature of their recently upgraded premises on Totara Avenue.