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More than 120 lane kilometres of Auckland’s state highway network have been renewed over the past six months as crews completed a major programme of maintenance, drainage upgrades and operational improvements across the region.
Between December 1, 2025, and May 31, 2026, Auckland System Management (ASM), which maintains the city’s state highways on behalf of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, also completed 106 kilometres of line marking, renewed eight stormwater ponds and installed 290 LED lights as part of efforts to improve safety, resilience and traffic flow.
“Despite some challenging weather at times, the team has put in a huge amount of mahi delivering a substantial programme of work while continuing to respond to day-to-day network needs,” said NZTA regional manager of maintenance and operations, Jacqui Hori-Hoult.
“They’ve worked tirelessly to keep Auckland’s state highway network safe, resilient and operating for the people and businesses who rely on it every day.”
Hori-Hoult said a standout project was the completion of a third southbound lane on State Highway 20 beneath the Hillsborough Road overbridge.
“This improvement removes a key bottleneck where the motorway previously reduced from three lanes to two, helping to ease congestion and improve travel reliability for Aucklanders.”
Crews also completed a range of maintenance and resilience projects, including ongoing maintenance on the Auckland Harbour Bridge, bridge joint replacements on SH20 at Dominion Road and SH1 near Mountain Road, stormwater and drainage upgrades at SH20 Bader Drive, and improvements to more than 20 stormwater assets between Gillies Avenue and Khyber Pass Road on SH1 to help strengthen the network against severe weather.
“Drainage improvements are a critical part of protecting our network, particularly in high-risk locations where heavy rainfall can lead to surface flooding and damage to the road structure,” Hori-Hoult said.
Work is continuing on the SH1 Khyber Pass to Gillies Avenue soakage improvement project, which will improve drainage resilience and address known flooding issues near the Mountain Road bridge.
To maximise productivity and reduce disruption, ASM is also doing additional paving shifts on Saturday nights across parts of SH1 and SH22, helping to clear a backlog of work caused by earlier poor weather.
“The workload doesn’t quit over winter, maintaining Auckland’s network is a 365 days a year job, and we thank road users for their patience while crews work hard to keep the network safe and open,” Hori-Hoult said.
