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New photos show the Pūhoi to Warkworth motorway in its final development stages.
The first images of Auckland’s long-expected Pūhoi to Warkworth motorway have been released on Facebook.
The road stretches from the Johnstone Hill Tunnels to just north of Warkworth.
It is the first part of Ara Tūhono, the Pūhoi to Wellsford project.
Originally scheduled to be completed in May 2022, the 18.5km road is now likely to be finished between April and June.
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The images show the motorway winding between north Auckland hills and cutting through rocky cliff sides.
In December 2022, the ‘holiday highway’ faced delays while Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency worked to resolve hundreds of millions in financial claims from contractors.
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The first images of thePūhoi to Warkworth motorway have been released on Facebook.
The claims relate to delays caused by the five weeks that Auckland was in level 4 lockdown in 2021, which were outside the contractors’ control.
On its website, Waka Kotahi said it would “provide an update on the expected opening date as soon as this work is complete”.
Construction for the project began in 2016.
It has already significantly overrun in both cost and time.
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Housing demand in Warkworth and nearby towns has surged over the last two years.
According to the Government’s statement of accounts, it had spent $1.05 billion on the motorway by the end of June 30, 2022.
The original budget was $780 million and the Waka Kotahi website still says $877.5 million.
Large-scale motorway extensions have significant economic benefits, but they can also increase nearby property values.
A 2016 Danish study, which involved 250,000 houses, found a major highway development boosted prices by about 5% in the run-up to the opening, then by 2.5% to 4.3% in the following years.
JASON DORDAY/STUFF
The Ōkahu Viaduct motorway construction project near the Johnstones Hill Tunnels continues. (Video produced in 2020)
North Auckland is already starting to feel the impacts of the motorway’s construction.
Housing demand in Warkworth and nearby towns, such as Leigh and Snells Beach, has surged over the last two years, Ray White Warkworth principal Terrence Banks previously said.
White said the new motorway extension was likely a significant factor in rising prices.
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