Aucklanders face major traffic delays with part of the Southern Motorway to close from Saturday evening.
The northbound lanes of State Highway 1, between Market Road and Gillies Avenue, will be closed from 5pm to complete work for the new Newmarket Viaduct, the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) says.
The motorway is set to re-open, with motorists using the new viaduct, from 8am on Monday, Auckland Anniversary Day.
Detours will be in place, but delays will be "severe", says NZTA's Auckland acting State Highways manager Steve Mutton.
"We have to redirect up to 65,000 vehicles that normally use this section of motorway on Sundays," he says.
"There is going to be a lot of congestion and delays on roads around the motorway, even with our detours in place to help drivers."
People should avoid the motorway if possible, or allow a lot more time on their journey if they must travel, Mr Mutton says.
NZTA is also closing the Market Road southbound motorway off-ramp, the Greenlane northbound motorway on-ramp, the Ellerslie-Panmure Highway northbound motorway on-ramp, and the South Eastern Highway northbound motorway on-ramp.
Trains will be available on the Southern Line, running through Newmarket, to provide an alternate transport option.
NZN