Northern Corridor given the go-ahead

An independent Board of Inquiry has approved to the Auckland-based Northern Corridor Improvements proposal to construct the last link of Auckland’s Western Ring Route, providing an alternative route from South Auckland to the North Shore.

The new road will create an uninterrupted motorway-to-motorway connection along the Western Ring Route – the Hobsonville, Northwestern and Southwestern Motorways (SHs18, 16 and 20) - between Albany and Manukau to the south, upgrading the Upper Harbour Highway to a motorway, and extending the Northern Busway from Constellation Drive to the Albany park-and-ride station.

The Board released a draft decision on 9 October 2017, and received comments from six parties. After considering the comments received on the Draft Report and Decision, the Board has made a number of ‘minor and technical’ changes and these have been incorporated into the Final Report and Decision.

The Board’s decision can be appealed, only on questions of law, to the High Court under section 149V of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) by the New Zealand Transport Agency (the applicant), Auckland Council (the local authority), all submitters on the Proposal and the Minister for the Environment.

Download the final decision and report here:http://www.epa.govt.nz/Resource-management/nci/Pages/default.aspx