The Newmarket Viaduct southbound motorway lanes were closed
to traffic
Auckland motorists have received high praise for heeding
warnings to stay off the motorways and use public transport to
avoid a city-wide gridlock while a new motorway was opened.
The new viaduct opened 17 hours earlier than predicted after
the southbound lanes on the southern motorway closed on
Saturday night to allow the switch from the old motorway
section to the new viaduct.
The motorway was due to reopen by 5am today but the New
Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) said because motorists heeded
warnings to stay off the motorways they were able to reopen
the motorway by midday yesterday.
Earlier predictions were that if motorists did not heed the
warnings it could lead to the worst city gridlock the city
had seen as traffic banked up around alternative routes.
Motorists turned to public transport with patronage five
times higher than normal for a weekend.
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