Auckland Infrastructure: Laying the groundwork for Auckland’s future
December 10th, 2009
The strengthening of Auckland Harbour Bridge’s clip-on lanes has proven a vastly more expensive proposition than was envisaged just two years ago. NZTA is confident the budget, which has jumped from $45m to $86m to reflect additional steel needed for the box girders, is now sufficient to complete the work. What’s clear from a Beca study on future load growth on the bridge is the strengthening project may be the last hurrah in terms of extending capacity on the outer lanes. NZTA Auckland director Wayne McDonald says it is “important to recognise that the bridge cannot continue to carry heavy vehicles or serve as the city’s main harbour crossing indefinitely.”
Transport Minister Steven Joyce says a new crossing on the Waitemata Harbour could cost $3bn for a bridge or $500m for tunnels. The NZTA has “locked in” the preferred route, cutting through the Wynyard Quarter tank farm, by requiring the route to be protected by Auckland City and North Shore City. Construction, if the project is advanced, is expected in the next 10-20 years. Joyce says a third harbour crossing, be it a bridge or tunnels, “will in time relieve much of the pressure on the existing bridge.” The present iconic bridge won’t become a relic though. It will become an important arterial route and alternative harbour crossing. A new route across the harbour will be a “key transport priority” in the 20-year National Infrastructure Plan, slated for release early next year.
Copyright © Media Information Ltd
NZ Transport Intelligence Briefing
Amalgamated Dairies
Strait Shipping