Auckland Northern Motorway - History

History

The first section of the Northern Motorway opened on 30 May 1959, in conjunction with the opening of the Auckland Harbour Bridge. The first section totalled 7.4 km, stretching from Northcote Road to Fanshawe Street. On its opening day, 51,000 vehicles crossed the Harbour Bridge, with southbound traffic backing up for unprecedented 10 km north of the toll plaza (near the present Stafford Street exit) with vehicles wishing to cross the bridge for the first time. Initially, the Auckland Harbour Bridge Authority owned and operated the motorway between Fanshawe Street and the toll plaza, while the National Roads Board (the predecessor to the New Zealand Transport Agency) operated the remainder of the motorway from the toll plaza to Northcote Road.

Initially, the motorway was limited access, with all ramps facing towards the Harbour Bridge. Tolls for the Harbour Bridge were collected manually, with cars initially paying 2/6 to cross the bridge (equal to 25 cents in today's New Zealand dollar, equivalent to $5.00 in 2010 dollars).

In 1962, the Victoria Park Viaduct opened, and the motorway was extended south from Fanshawe Street, over the viaduct, to Cook Street/Wellington Street. In 1969, the motorway was extended northwards from Northcote Road to Tristram Avenue, and the Auckland Harbour Bridge's clip-on lanes opened, widening the bridge from four lanes to eight lanes.

In 1978, the motorway was extended south to meet the Southern Motorway at Nelson Street/Hobson Street. This allowed motorway traffic a clear run from Tristram Avenue to St Stephens, on the northern side of the Bombay Hills.

In 1984, the Northern Motorway was extended northward to Sunset Road, near the present Upper Harbour Highway interchange, with a two-laned expressway continuing from Sunset Road to Albany Highway at Albany Village. The motorway ended at a set of traffic lights on the top of a hill, giving limited visibility to motorway traffic. On 30 March 1984, the last tolls were collected for the Harbour Bridge, making the entire Northern Motorway free of charge from 31 March 1984.

In the 1980s, tidal flow was introduced on the Auckland Harbour Bridge to assist with peak flows on the Northern Motorway between the North Shore and central Auckland. The two central lanes were made reversible to allow a 5+3 split favouring the peak direction (southbound in the morning, northbound in the evening) during peak hours, and 4+4 off-peak. The lanes were controlled by overhead signals, which some motorists on the Motorway ignored and were killed when they collided head-on with oncoming traffic - between 1 January 1989 and 27 November 1989, some five people died as a result of collisions involving the so-called "suicide lanes". In 1990, a moveable barrier was installed to separate the traffic flows.

The expressway between Sunset Road and Greville Road was upgraded and became a part of the Northern Motorway in 1994. A new interchange was created at Upper Harbour Highway and Constellation Drive to replace the Sunset Road intersection.

The late 1990s saw the construction of the first stages of the Albany to Puhoi Realignment (ALPURT) – a 27 km extension of the Northern Motorway, bypassing Albany Hill and the Hibiscus Coast. The first section, ALPURT A, opened between Greville Road and Silverdale on 20 December 1999. At 13 km in length, it was the longest section of motorway to open at once in New Zealand. At the same time, ALPURT B1, a two-lane expressway between Silverdale and the back of Orewa opened.

In 2006, an upgrade to the Central Motorway Junction saw ramps open between the Northern Motorway and the Northwestern Motorway, and the Northern Motorway and Grafton Gully. Beforehand, traffic travelling from the Northern Motorway to the Northwestern Motorway or Grafton Gully had to exit at Cook Street and travel through local city streets to connect to Waitakere or the Port of Auckland.

ALPURT B2, the Northern Gateway Toll Road, opened on 25 January 2009 between Orewa and Puhoi. The Northern Gateway Toll Road was the first automated toll road in New Zealand, and the first under the authority of the New Zealand Transport Agency. At the same time, ALPURT B1 was upgraded to motorway standard to complete the Northern Motorway from central Auckland to Puhoi.