Motorists are being warned to avoid a major Auckland central city area which will be disrupted for up to five years due to construction of the $4.4 billion City Rail Link.

Dale Burtenshaw, deputy project director for the Link Alliance which is building CRL, said work would be carried around Wellesley St West, Mayoral Dr and Albert St.

For the next year, the intersection of Wellesley St with Mayoral Dr and Albert St would be shut, he said.

But for the next five years, work would be carried out in the area and that would continue to disrupt traffic.

Wellesley St West won't open to through-traffic till 2021. Access to Mayoral Dr in this area will be shut until CRL is finished by 2024.

"We recognise this is a busy part of town and while the intersection is closed to vehicles, we're focussed on keeping the area safely accessible and open for business," Burtenshaw said.

The work was necessary to build the new Aotea Station - the CBD's second major train station after Britomart. The new station will rise behind Bledisloe House, at the intersection of Wellesley St West and Albert St, although it will be accessed all the way through to Victoria St.

Burtenshaw said this major part of the project was an important milestone and indicated the alliance sought understanding so the project could be finished.

"The sooner we start and finish the first stages of our station work, the sooner we can re-open part of the intersection," he said.