It runs through the Pourewa Valley and the Eastern Transport Corridor, and for most of its length is adjacent to the North Island Main Trunk railway line.

A strategy study in 2002 stated a need for a new motorway to be built in the corridor (as had been planned decades before) for a variety of reasons, including the need to make suburban streets safer and less polluted.

Even after revised designs, the impacts were still high, and with costs rising (with a worst case estimate of NZ$3.9 billion),[2] the corridor was fast becoming a political boondoggle.

The proposed route would have the path run from Glen Innes railway station, through Apirana Reserve to St Johns Rd, before entering the Pourewa Valley.

Adjustments to the width of the pre-existing Ōrākei Basin boardwalk began in March 2019, constituting the beginning of work on Section 3, and was opened on time in July of that year.