People are shaving up to 23 minutes off return trips from Cambridge to Hamilton on the new expressway passing through the area.
Approximately 15,000 vehicles per day have been using the new road since it opened on December 16 last year.
The NZ Transport Agency’s Hamilton highway manager, Kaye Clark, says monitoring over the last month has shown drivers are saving between 10 and 13 minutes each trip past Cambridge by not having to go through the town and get caught in queues.
“At peak travel times in the morning, north-bound traffic is saving 13 minutes off their journey and in the afternoon people travelling south have taken 10 minutes off their travel time,” Clark says.
“Along with time savings this also saves people money on fuel, and shows the real benefits the Cambridge section of the Expressway is delivering for commuters in the Waikato,” Clark says.
The increase in traffic on the new road has meant the number of vehicles using the old road has also reduced considerably.
About 13,430 less vehicles are travelling on the old state highway north of Cambridge and about 8000 less vehicles are using the old road south of the town.
A post-construction review of the Cambridge section will take place this year. The review will include noise monitoring, which will get under way in March.
“People living alongside the Expressway are telling us they can hear the traffic,” Clark says.
“With that in mind we have worked with the contractor, HEB Construction, to bring forward the date that the final, quieter seal will be put on the road.
“The final seal will significantly reduce traffic noise but can only be laid in warm weather and after the existing road surface has had time to bed in. This work will get under way in October, three months earlier than planned.”
