ARC Rejects Tolling For Motorway
April 17th, 2008
Auckland Regional Council members have come out against using tolling to pay for the $1.9bn tunnelled motorway through Waterview which casts new doubts over when the project may be completed. The Council’s Transport Committee supports in principle the project Transit NZ wants to complete by 2015 as the final link in Auckland’s 48km Western Ring Route between Manukau and Albany. However, it voted to tell Transit it does not support tolls on individual sectors of Auckland’s roading network, and potential rail links are its preference for improving public access to the airport. The decision to oppose tolling could delay the project’s completion. Michael Cullen has stated it will be difficult to complete the Waterview link and other Auckland transport projects by 2015 from fuel-tax revenue alone.
Concerns Alleviated. Meanwhile, Transport Committee Chairwoman Christine Rose says Transit’s preference for running the Waterview link through bored tunnels goes a long way toward alleviating previous concerns about the scale of social and environmental impacts of a “cut-and-cover” motorway through the sensitive Oakley Creek catchment. However, ARC Councillor, Sandra Coney, is concerned about extra pressure the completed project may impose on the Northwestern Motorway’s frequently-congested causeway between Waterview and Te Atatu.
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