Transforming Auckland’s streets: the Point Chevalier to Westmere corridor upgrade

As Auckland’s population grows and traffic volumes increase, Auckland Transport (AT) initiated a major upgrade of Point Chevalier Road, Meola Road, and Garnet Road. The goal: to create a safer, more accessible corridor for pedestrians, cyclists, and public transport users, and encourage sustainable travel modes such as walking, cycling, and e-scooters.

The project also had to maintain high-volume traffic flows and access within a constrained urban corridor, requiring careful planning and coordination.

Our role

We were appointed as the lead designer for the detailed design phase of the corridor transformation and for technical support during construction.

Our responsibilities included:

• Reconciling and refining scheme designs developed by others
• Improving the previous design in terms of safety outcomes, constructability, and cost
• Collaborating with subject matter experts to resolve outstanding issues

Our team designed a 2.8km-long corridor featuring Copenhagen-style cycleways, upgraded footpaths, and enhanced public transport facilities and infrastructure.

Image credit: Boffa Miskell and Auckland Transport

Key design elements included:

• Active transport and public amenities: dedicated and separate cycle lanes and widened footpaths; new bus lanes and ‘floating’ bus stops adjacent to cycle paths, upgraded bus stops with shelters, seating, and bins, and additional pedestrian crossings.
• Urban design and landscaping: native tree planting, traffic calming measures to reduce vehicle speeds, and streetscaping elements facilitated by Boffa Miskell and in collaboration with Mana Whenua partners.
• Infrastructure and utilities: Improved stormwater drainage and separation from the wastewater system, road resurfacing and pavement rehabilitation, undergrounding of powerlines, and rebuilding Meola Road's foundations.

The detailed design integrates safety, environmental sustainability, and community wellbeing and spans many disciplines, including transport planning, geometrics, traffic signals, lighting, stormwater management, and business case development.

Image credit: Boffa Miskell and Auckland Transport

Community engagement

The design evolved over several years, shaped by extensive community consultation and feedback. We supported the public engagement by providing key materials responding to stakeholder enquiries, and worked closely with Auckland Transport to consult with affected residents and business owners to ensure the design reflected local needs and aspirations.

We were subsequently engaged to support the Auckland Transport project delivery team through construction, working with Auckland Transport throughout the tender process, and helping to identify existing discrepancies with adjacent property boundaries early on. Additional items were included within the scope as the project evolved.

Coordinating infrastructure delivery with a ‘dig once’ approach

Under the existing water infrastructure configuration, stormwater discharges into the wastewater network. To enhance the area’s climate resilience, authorities wanted to separate stormwater from the combined network, which involved the installation of approximately 900 metres of pipe and associated manholes.

To minimise disruption to traffic and the community during construction, the team worked with Auckland Transport and Auckland Council Healthy Waters to adopt a ‘dig once’ strategy, which involved bundling infrastructure upgrades into a single coordinated effort.

Image credit: Boffa Miskell and Auckland Transport

This also involved managing complex geometric designs with precise tolerances to accommodate changes in kerb lines, and navigating limited space, varying pavement and driveway conditions, and existing trees.

After extensive stormwater investigations and analysis to make best use of existing infrastructure, we coordinated with Healthy Waters to integrate stormwater separation into the roadworks, so that all surfacing work happened at the same time.

This approach enabled us to use the same traffic management plan to deliver both projects, saving time and money by sharing contractors, resources, and equipment. In bundling multiple infrastructure upgrades, we reduced the overall amount of disruption, while enhancing long-term efficiency of the water network.

Working over a closed landfill

The corridor traverses a former tram line and closed landfill, presenting constructability and environmental risks.

To address these, we conducted a constructability and safety-in-design review with recommendations to:

• Minimise excavation
• Design reduced-depth tree pits to reduce the impact on utilities
• Use gravity blocks as retaining walls
• Install impermeable linings to prevent leachate entering the stormwater system
• Rebuild Meola Road's failing pavement, constructed with raised pavement levels to provide additional climate resilience

Image credit: Boffa Miskell and Auckland Transport

Managing scope changes and COVID delays

The project team navigated a number of challenges impacting the scope and programme of this project, including changes in key staff, COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns, changes in design expectations for cycling infrastructure, funding approval delays, and late scope changes requiring a redesign of the stormwater and wastewater networks.

Thanks to strong client relationships, we helped to overcome these challenges and maintained momentum by creating a more inclusive decision-making process, which improved handovers. Rigorous documentation of decisions supported continuity as the project progressed and personnel changed.

Construction began in December 2023, with works completed in the first half of 2025. Completion of the works was celebrated with a community-led event on Saturday, 7 June, which included stalls and family activities along the length of the cycle path.

Despite delays during consenting and approvals, we delivered the adaptive, detailed design within budget and to the revised schedule. Furthermore, due to robust risk management and with the aid of our technical support during construction, the final construction costs have come in under budget.

The community is already enjoying a transformed streetscape that supports sustainable transport and fosters a vibrant, connected neighbourhood. We’re proud to have helped Auckland Transport to realise their vision of a safer, greener, and more accessible Auckland.

Image credit: Boffa Miskell and Auckland Transport