Transit rejects St Marys Bay tunnel

By WAYNE THOMPSON

Transit New Zealand has rejected St Marys Bay residents' demands to build a wider Auckland city motorway below ground.

Residents sought a road tunnel under Victoria Park and trenching of the motorway through the bay to the Harbour Bridge.

But Transit has decided that will be too expensive and will instead attach a lane each way to the Victoria Park Viaduct to widen the motorway between Cook St and the bridge.

St Marys Bay Association chairman Tony Skelton said yesterday he was appalled at the decision and the association was considering legal action.

Transit was taking the "cheap and nasty option" and missing an opportunity to permanently solve the visual, noise and air pollution problems the motorway created.

Auckland Mayor John Banks said clipping extra lanes on to the flyover and erecting a high concrete noise wall along the bay's sea cliffs would create "an urban landscape obscenity".

Transit regional manager Wayne McDonald said the cost of rebuilding and widening the viaduct was estimated at $105 million, compared with a full tunnel or northbound tunnel at $280 million and $200 million respectively.

Trenching the motorway across the bay from HMNZS Ngapona to the bridge would cost $100 million.

He said the Transit Authority could not justify the extra cost of a tunnel without either dropping a high-priority motorway improvement, or getting local funding to fully meet additional costs. Transit had tried hard to get that funding.

The Auckland and North Shore city councils and public good funding agency Infrastructure Auckland could not make up the difference.

Transit would now seek to widen the viaduct by 8m on its western side to give three lanes each way from Wellington St to Ngapona.

Mr McDonald said Transit was concerned about traffic noise and was proposing sound-reflecting, see-through walls.

Transit would talk to the association about other alternatives to the full trench to reduce visual and noise effects.

Mr Skelton said the association had been talking about the problem since 1985 and had put up a sound proposal.

"It's all been a waste of time and money - we haven't been listened to. The benefits to the environment from trenching would far outweigh the $100 million over time."

Mr Banks said a "catch-up, patch-up" solution for Auckland's transport woes was not part of his vision for the city.

Transit needed to find the money to do the job once and properly in the best interests of the future. It was beyond Auckland's local authorities to make up the substantial shortfall if they were to fulfil their desire for $4 billion of work on the region's roads in seven years.

"We need ... support from the Government, to think outside the square, to raise the cash to complete all the pieces in the project properly."

Additional revenue could come from raising loans, regional petrol and diesel taxes and roading tolls, said Mr Banks.

Infrastructure Auckland has $90 million set aside over five years for spending on roads. Chief executive Richard Maher said Transit had discussed the tunnel proposal with Infrastructure but had not formally applied for help.

Mr Maher said Infrastructure had indicated it could give up to $30 million because of the community benefits a full tunnel offered.

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