Motorists in Auckland have been told again to stay at home or use free public transport this weekend or risk possibly the biggest traffic gridlock the city has seen.
The busiest stretch of motorway in New Zealand will be closed for 36 hours from 5pm on Saturday to allow engineers to switch over to a new stretch of motorway, the new Newmarket Viaduct.
The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) said the southbound Newmarket Viaduct normally carried 60,000 vehicles on Sunday alone and if motorists ignored the warnings, it would take little time for traffic jams to spread.
"If normal traffic volumes are maintained...severe congestion will quickly build up throughout the region," NZTA state highways manager for Auckland, Tommy Parker said.
Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) said local rail travel would be free for the 36-hour southbound closure of the motorway.
Mr Parker said he was optimistic disruption could be kept to manageable levels because of the free rail travel and the high level of public awareness.
He said 83 percent of Aucklanders knew of the closure and its potential impacts.
"If the great majority of people don't drive, it will ensure Auckland's roads remain viable for emergency services and those for whom travel is absolutely essential," he said.
The closure would allow traffic onto the first half of the new viaduct by 5am on Monday.
The new motorway stretch would cut five minutes off the journey through the central city bottleneck and Mr Parker said that when the Victoria Park Tunnel project was completed in the middle of 2012 peak-hour southbound journey times would be cut by up to 10 minutes.
NZPA