An artist’s impression of the planned station to be built on the Northern Busway at Rosedale on the North Shore. Photo: Supplied / NZTA
An Auckland bus station is likely to finally be finished in 2027 - a decade after its first designs were unveiled.
The Rosedale bus station project's funding has also been slashed from $69 million to to $42m, meaning local road improvements are not expected until at least a year after it opens.
Construction is now due to start by the end of this year, after a new tender goes out in a few months' time.
The interchange on the Northern busway alongside State Highway One was expected to carry at least four thousand people a day when it was first announced in 2017.
It had been due to be finished in 2021, but by the following year only a bridge and retaining walls had been built. Auckland Transport (AT) did not respond to questions about what has caused those earlier delays, but said work had been due to start about now, after it took the project over from the NCI alliance in 2023.
That alliance comprised the Transport Agency, Fulton Hogan, HEB Construction, Opus and Jacobs and included the roading project to connect the Northern Motorway and State Highway 18, and the Northern Busway extension to Albany.
"There has recently been changes to our planned delivery for this project following a reduction in overall funding AT received from the National Land Transport Programme (NLTP)," an Auckland Council spokesperson said.
"The NLTP sets out what funding AT gets from central government for our capital and operational delivery.
"The Rosedale Station project now has certainty of funding to allow us to focus on building the station, albeit a reduced amount over the coming three years ($42m instead of $69m) which means the project will now be delivered in stages."
The project was welcomed when it was first unveiled as part of the Albany busway extension, offering closer and quicker bus links. However, public consultation also showed businesses and residents were concerned that already congested local roads could get snarled up by commuters being dropped off or parking nearby.
"We are prioritising the construction of the bus station itself by June 2027. To align with the project's cashflow with the confirmed funding we now have, we plan to tender for a construction partner for the first stage of construction by mid-2025 and aim to start construction in late 2025.
"The remaining project elements like the planned local road improvements with bus lanes and pedestrian and cycling facilities are expected to be delivered in 2028 or later, depending on future funding allocation."
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