Ask Phoebe: Waterview machinery up for sale

The largest sections of the Alice, the TBM which helped excavate the twin tunnels at the Waterview Connection.

I understand that Alice the Burrower is to be returned to Germany to her manufacturer, but what about all the other stuff used for the Waterview Connection? There are currently great piles of it sitting in the centre of the Southwestern Motorway. Alistair Mardie, Auckland.

You understand correctly. Alice is currently in parts sitting at the Ports of Auckland, and by the end of the week she'll be on her way back to Germany.

Many other pieces of machinery from the Waterview Connection project are starting to be sold off as they're no longer needed. The items range from waterblasters to the huge, 140-tonne, 98m yellow gantry named Dennis, that was designed and built in Italy to place enormous concrete beams on to columns for the project's four-ramp interchange. A TradeMe auction site operated by Turners Auctions is now up and running and will sell general goods, trucks and mobile machinery from the project each month. Other industrial and specialised items are being sold via http://tinyurl.com/hhwrjfm

The motorway alliance is doing an amazing job upgrading the Northwestern Motorway while handling the normal heavy traffic flows.

The lanes under the motorway and the on-ramp to the NW motorway from Pt Chevalier heading west have gone through some changes during this time. Originally both lanes under the motorway leading to the on-ramp were for all vehicles, then the left lane was changed to a T2 lane while changes were made to the on-ramp. These changes are now complete.

Is the left hand lane under the bridge still T2 or has it reverted to original status of all vehicles? Phil Pease, Auckland, and Stephen Moorhead, Auckland.

The T2 lane was put in as part of the construction. It remains to assist bus movement in the absence of bus lanes which were removed for the construction period. The T2 will be removed when construction is completed.