27/11/2025
East West Link a chat with Waka Kotahi NZTA, Greg Fleming MP and Debbie Burrows
With thanks to Greg Flemming and Debbie Burrows, a meeting was held on Wednesday evening at the Onehunga Community House to give Waka Kotahi NZTA an early opportunity to present to the community and take questions about the East West Link.
Because the project is still in its early stages, the presentation was light on detail and not yet at a point for full public consultation. NZTA outlined that the project will be delivered in three stages:
Stage 1 focuses on the Onehunga Harbour Road end of the route;
Stage 2 on the Penrose end; and
Stage 3 on connecting these two areas via the Neilson Street corridor.
Stage 1, which will proceed first, proposes adding an additional lane along Onehunga Harbour Road to deliver an estimated travel-time saving of 3.2 minutes for roughly 40,000 vehicles per day. The distance over which this time saving applies was not specified, although one would hope it relates to Onehunga Harbour Road itself.
Attendees noted that the detail will be crucial—faster-moving, higher-volume traffic could raise safety concerns for residents needing to merge onto the road, as well as for the Sea Scouts who regularly cross it to access Gloucester Park.
Questions were also raised about environmental mitigation in this area, given the ongoing aspiration to restore Onehunga’s foreshore between the award-winning Taumanu Reserve and the Port of Onehunga. Whether NZTA will take on environmental restoration as part of the project remains to be seen.
Some attendees expressed disappointment that Stage 3 moves away from the foreshore and onto Neilson Street, arguing that this may forgo opportunities for coastal-edge improvements similar to those achieved at Taumanu Reserve. Others were concerned that adding traffic to the already congested Neilson Street could worsen conditions. NZTA partially addressed this by noting that new motorway links are intended to allow trucks to move more directly into and out of the area, reducing some existing bottlenecks. However, it is still too early in the process to see detailed designs.
A question was raised about integration with rail. It was suggested that extending rail into Onehunga is not preferred, and that if future rail expansion occurs it should follow the existing state highway corridor. The East West Link will need to make provision for this, though it is unclear whether this is currently on NZTA’s agenda. The removal of the Neilson Street Bridge during the first iteration of the project eliminated the option of extending rail from Onehunga to the Port and then along the seaward side of SH20 to New Lynn and beyond. Should such future-proofing now be reconsidered? Debbie Burrows noted that the local board is progressing plans for a walking and cycling route along the old rail corridor, avoiding the need for cyclists to use the busy Onehunga Harbour Road.
One member of the public asked whether consideration had been given to incentivising businesses to relocate out of the area, thereby reducing truck movements and freeing up local roads. A business owner attending the meeting said he was already moving part of his operation elsewhere. Given that the project could take up to ten years to deliver—or may not proceed at all if a future government cancels it, as occurred previously—this may be a realistic option for businesses to consider. Would investing in incentives for relocation be a better use of public funds than building new roads, where such action would remove the need for freight movements between areas such as East Tamaki and Onehunga while considerably lowering carbon emissions. Perhaps greener alternatives should be explored?
It was made clear that this project is still very much in the early stages. Consenting will not get underway until late 2026 or early 2027, so there is still plenty of time to give your input. This was expressed with strong views about consultation, emphasising the need to be involved early rather than being presented with a near-final proposal. Several attendees suggested that NZTA establish a community panel or stakeholder group to work collaboratively on solutions, rather than leaving concerns to be fought out through formal processes later. Greg responded positively and encouraged anyone wishing to be included in East West Link communications to email him and join the distribution list. Debbie backed this up saying we need something to solve Onehunga’s traffic congestion, suggesting people should look for positive suggestions to help the project succeed.
We encourage you to do this, get on Greg’s list and share your views and register with NZTA to keep informed (see photo). Greg can be emailed at [email protected] .
