One-way tunnel wins support

Transit New Zealand will try to accelerate plans for a one-way motorway tunnel northbound under Victoria Park, after winning Auckland Regional Council support for it as an interim congestion solution.

But a vote of support yesterday by the council's transport committee does not mean members have given up hope that Transit will send traffic underground in both directions once the existing motorway viaduct over the park reaches the end of its life.

Their support follows similar votes by the Auckland and North Shore city councils, giving the roading agency confidence to prepare a notice of requirement to acquire land for a 600m tunnel and a wider motorway link to the harbour bridge, at a cost of more than $200 million.

Northern manager Richard Hancy said the notice should be ready by the end of the year, possibly allowing the project to begin earlier than a 2009 start date previously indicated, although he could offer no guarantees.

His organisation will face extra pressure for an early start once $195 million of improvements to Auckland's central motorway junction are complete next year, as their full benefit will not be realised until traffic gains a clearer run between them and the harbour bridge.

The regional councillors reaffirmed their preference for tunnels in both directions in the long term, by describing the one-way structure of three northbound lanes in their resolution as a "first stage" measure.

But opponents of the concrete viaduct which has cast a giant shadow over Victoria Park since the 1960s face a long wait, as Transit indicated that it may be able to carry southbound traffic for another 30 or 40 years.

Transit initially resisted pressure from the regional body and Auckland City Council for a tunnel rather than a widened or duplicate viaduct to clear one of the country's most notorious motorway congestion chokepoints.

It insisted there were insufficient national roading funds available for a six-lane tunnel costing up to $290 million, and said the councils would have to find a local contribution if they wanted that. Faced with new environmental and social responsibilities under the 2003 Land Transport Management Act, however, Transit decided late last year it could build a one-way tunnel without seeking local funds.

Acting northern transportation manager Steve Enticott told the regional councillors yesterday that the tunnel and associated motorway widening around St Marys Bay would probably cost more than $200 million but would work out $100 million cheaper than a two-way version.

This compared with $120 million to $130 million for a widened viaduct.

A bid by councillor Sandra Coney to amend the committee's resolution to insist on a two-way tunnel from the start was defeated by just five votes to four, after she gained support from council chairman Mike Lee.

Committee chairman Joel Cayford said traffic would face a 60 per cent steeper climb out of a southbound tunnel than over the harbour bridge, making it difficult for heavy trucks to use and increasing fuel emissions in central Auckland.