Short Sited Auckland

Just like a person who cannot see into the distance, Auckland transport are not looking to the future in terms of population growth and what this means for our roads. As most of you have noticed, there are extensive construction works happening in the viaduct motorway in Auckland City. This project includes building a north bound tunnel with 3 lanes and then opening up ALL 4 viaduct lanes for south bound traffic (Auckland Motorways 2011). The tunnel will greatly improve the flow of traffic from both southbound and northbound directions during peak times.

               Proposed result (Auckland Motorway, 2011)

So what is wrong with this you ask?
Well, there are several things actually. By failing to invest in southbound tunnel which would enable a demolition of the viaduct overpass lanes, the following points show what is wrong with this.


1. Missed opportunities for enhancing the space in front of historic birdcage building which connects with Victoria Park market and Victoria Park. By not grasping this opportunity, we have yet again failed to improve the connections within Auckland City. 

2. Failure to provide infrastructure for future growth in Auckland. By 2030, the proposed population of Auckland is to be around 2 million. Auckland Motorways have stated that the reason they have not built a southbound tunnel at the same time as the current tunnel is because of funding. I know that I am speaking as an outsider, but to me, it makes a lot more sense to spend that much more today and have a job done that will inevitable need to be done in the future. If they had done it now, then they would have saved time and money that could be better spent on other sectors (such as the health sector) as the workers would already be digging up that area. Now, when this tunnel needs to be built, they will have to spend hard earned taxes on re-digging up the same area.


Now i must admit that another main reason for not building the southbound tunnel now is because they are looking to tie it in with the proposed harbour crossing. Although this looks great for the future, these investments needed to be made years ago. And surely they can still build the tunnel now and then tie it in with the new harbour crossing???

      Proposed Harbour Crossing (Auckland Motorway, 2011)

If you would like to read more on this project and the proposed harbour crossing then follow these links:
Victoria Park Tunnel: http://www.aucklandmotorways.co.nz/northern/victoriaviaduct.php
Auckland harbour Crossing: http://www.aucklandmotorways.co.nz/northern/ahc.php
What are your thoughts with this? I'm keen to hear.