 Motorway construction recommenced in the late 1970s, to connect the Northwestern Motorway at Waterview to the Auckland city centre, bypassing Great North Road.The first section to open was in 1979, stretching 2.4 km from Newton Road (Exit 5) to Western Springs, at the current site of the eastbound on/off-ramps for St Lukes Road (Exit 6).At the same time, ramps opened as part of the Central Motorway Junction from Newton Road to Nelson Street and Hobson Street (now Exit 4B), connecting the Northwestern Motorway to the city centre.