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Transport officials want a $ 5 billion rail tunnel under Auckland Harbor a decade before any additional road links, according to new council documents.
And that’s just the beginning of the big costs related to a wide range of rail, road and bus improvements for New Zealand’s largest city, which could total as high as $ 18 billion.
The huge sums and the first details of the new business case have emerged on an agenda for an upcoming meeting of the Auckland Council planning committee.
The business case has been worked on by staff from the Auckland Council, the New Zealand Transport Agency and Auckland Transport.
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Recommends an urgent Northern Busway upgrade followed by an additional rapid transit connection to the North Shore, including through the port to the CBD.
Planners estimate that the busway improvements will cost between $ 500 million and $ 600 million.
Connecting Takapuna and the central city with a tunnel, at least 6 km long, will cost $ 5 billion.
An additional $ 3 billion would be needed to extend further north to Albany depending on the business case.
Estimate the cost of an inline highway bridge that expands the existing bridge’s capacity by $ 1-2 billion.
That figure rises to $ 10 billion if a highway tunnel is built, which will link downtown and Esmonde Rd with additional highway lanes to Constellation Dr.
RYAN ANDERSON / THINGS
See: Residents in the four corners of the supercity have a voice on whether things are going better or worse under Auckland City Council.
In total, the business case found that its recommended program cost of capital range would be between $ 6 billion and $ 18 billion between 2024 and 2047.
Operating and maintaining the new connections would cost between $ 100 and $ 130 million each year, most of it spent on managing the tunnels.
A 2011 business case prepared by the New Zealand Institute for Economic Research and PricewaterhouseCoopers estimated the total capital cost of a tunnel to be $ 7.9 billion, compared to $ 6 billion for a new bridge.
A summary of the business case provided on the agenda shows that officials estimated that an additional rail link would take 15 years to complete and is needed by the mid to late 2030s due to population growth.
Chris McKeen / Stuff
The Auckland Harbor Bridge is becoming increasingly congested as the population grows on both sides of the water.
The business case does not specify whether the new rapid transit connection will be light rail, light rail, or heavy rail.
It also found that the rail connection would not fully address traffic congestion on the Auckland Harbor Bridge.
“The modeling carried out for the project yields similar results to those of the previous work; that the construction of additional lanes through the port of Waitematā will not eliminate congestion and only minimally improve travel times, due to the saturation of the road network in general ”, says the agenda.
However, increased traffic volumes at the port would likely lead to more traffic in the city center and surrounding highways, the business case found.
As a result, it recommended that other options, including the improvement of the busway, the application of new road prices and the new rail connection, be considered before the construction of any new additional road connections.
The business case did not identify the need for a new road connection before the mid to late 2040s.
Who is going to pay for it?
The Auckland Harbor Bridge is part of State Highway 1, which means that its operation and maintenance is the responsibility of the central government through the New Zealand Transport Agency.
However, a comment towards the end of the Auckland Council’s agenda shows that the question of exactly how it will be funded remains up in the air.
“As a project of national importance, it is expected that most, if not all, future stages of the project will be financed by the central government; However, this is not guaranteed. “
More bridge closures expected as the structure ages
Concerns about the city’s reliance on the Auckland Harbor Bridge came to light after a truck crashed into steel support truss, forcing urgent repairs and closing multiple lanes for an extended period. Traffic chaos broke out on the city’s road networks.
The council’s agenda notes that there is a “very high and growing” reliance on the bridge, compounding the effect of lane closures.
It opened in 1959 and clipped lanes were added a decade later.
A comment on the agenda suggests that more lanes are likely to be closed as the aging structure begins to demand more and more maintenance.
“While the port bridge is in good condition, it is an aging structure with increasing maintenance needs and will require increased traffic management restrictions to protect its ongoing structural integrity.”
Staff Photographer / Stuff
Traffic flows across the Auckland Harbor Bridge on December 22, 1985 (Sunday News archive).
Incoming Transportation Minister, Mt Roskill MP Michael Wood said he had not yet been briefed or spoken with officials about the new crossing.
“I think the accident about a month ago certainly highlighted to everyone the importance of having a sturdy way to cross the harbor,” Wood said.
He was unable to say whether the truck accident and lane closures had accelerated the business case.
“At this point the process is moving forward, we will receive the report shortly and then we will consider the next steps.”
