New lights were activated on February 27 on Mill Rd, to help with safety concerns from the BP precinct. Photo: Supplied / LDR
South Auckland motorists are being asked to be patient after the installation of new traffic lights at one of the busiest intersections in the area.
The traffic lights at the Bombay interchange, on Mill Rd and the adjacent BP Bombay service centre exit, were brought into operation last week after five months of roadworks.
A week in, motorists were still trying to get used to the new road layout, some taking to social media about the backed up traffic caused by the lights.
Former resident Bruce Owen, a member of the Bombay Collision Cross Roads Action Group that started the petition for improvements four years ago, said the whole point of the new lights was to make the intersection safer.
"Be patient," Owen said.
"It will take a little while for everything to settle down. It won't please everybody, but it will make the intersection safer."
For years, residents had concerns about safety - in particular, the exit from the nearby shopping complex and poor visibility of Mill Rd, for those using the southbound off ramp.
The practice of people turning left and going up to the roundabout on Great South Rd, people taking short cuts and making illegal turns into the shopping area alongside a KFC, was also raised.
"Trying to get out of BP precinct was very problematic, it's a very busy centre.
"You go there at any time of the day, the car parks are always full. Before the lights, you could be in a queue of 20 cars waiting to get out of the precinct onto Mill Rd."
The Bombay intersection is one of the busiest in rural south Auckland. Photo: Supplied / LDR
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) Transport Services regional manager Stephen Collett said traffic lights were needed at the interchange in the short term.
"We know that installing traffic lights now will not resolve all existing issues," Collett said.
"However, the lights will provide immediate and significant safety benefits for motorists using the interchange and service centre."
He said lights would also enable them to manage queue lengths on the southbound off-ramp to prevent them backing up onto the motorway, at evening peak time.
In stage one of the project, parts of the road were also widened, new traffic islands built and underground utility infrastructure relocated.
New drainage, signs and road markings were also installed.
NZTA was now working on stage 2, for a full upgrade of the interchange.
This would include widening the Mill Rd overbridge across SH1, and the approaches each side to four lanes, to address more capacity constraints.
Franklin Local Board chair Angela Fulljames said they were very pleased that NZTA was able to deliver and fund the project, "to make the area safer for the community who were becoming very concerned".
Franklin Ward councillor Andy Baker said the lights were an interim measure, completed within existing budgets.
"The future continued widening of the motorway will present an opportunity for a new fit for purpose interchange," Baker said.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
