Victoria Park Tunnel opens, congestion down 10%

The opening of the Victoria Park Tunnel will bring huge gains for Auckland and the wider New Zealand economy, through reduced congestion and faster, more reliable journey times, says Transport Minister Steven Joyce

The $340 million Victoria Park Tunnel project will increase the capacity of State Highway 1 between the Auckland Harbour Bridge and Newmarket, one of the country’s busiest freight and business routes.

Mr Joyce, who will attend a ceremony today to mark the official opening of the tunnel, says Victoria Park was identified as one of the first Roads of National Significance in March 2009 because of the contribution it could make to economic growth.

The new route will open to two lanes of traffic on November 14, which is three months earlier than originally planned.  The third lane will open in March 2012.

“The Victoria Park Tunnel project - the new tunnel for northbound traffic plus the four southbound lanes on the existing viaduct - will greatly ease congestion for the 150,000 plus vehicles that use this route each day through central Auckland and will eventually reduce journey times by  to 20 minutes,” says Mr Joyce.

Mr Joyce says Aucklanders are already enjoying the benefits of reduced congestion on the motorway network.

“For the 2010 calendar year, the number of minutes delay per kilometre travelled on Auckland’s state highway network during the morning peak period fell by 10.1% compared with the previous year.

“This is largely the result of the opening mid-year of the Manukau Extension and the Manukau Harbour Crossing on State Highway 20, both part of the Western Ring Route Road of National Significance.

“As the government’s road and rail construction programme progresses further benefits will be felt, not just for commuters who have long suffered the effects of being stuck in traffic but for our businesses and exporters which need to get their goods to market as quickly and efficiently as possible.

“When major road and rail projects which are currently underway are concluded in the middle of this decade, Aucklanders will be experiencing a real step change in how they get around their city,” says Mr Joyce.