As Auckland continues to grow in the following years, with more vehicles running on the road between North Shore and the CBD, managing Auckland’s cross-harbouur traffic flows has been agreed as one of the biggest issue facing the region in the near future. Studies have found that the number of vehicles crossing the Harbour Bridge each day has risen by over 30 percent in the last 20 years, and similar growth rate is expected over the coming 20 years (Anzac Centenary Bridge, 2011).
Therefore there will be a crucial need for having another harbor crossing to cope with the increasing number of vehicles, since the Harbour Bridge would reach its limits of what it can carry in terms of weight and volume, its structure of having a clip-on could also give rise to regular maintenance costs.
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| Auckland Harbour Bridge |
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| The Harbour Bridge |
There are generally two options to be considered for the public:
l Tunnel
Previously, a tunnel was preferred as an adequate solution to meet Auckland’s long term transport needs, as NZTA report identified the option as a combination of the existing bridge and at least two new tunnels will be built in the future. The tunnel is designated to include up to sic traffic lanes, as well as two rail tracks. The estimated cost of building the enw tunnels is $3.7-4.1 billion.
l Bridge
Then later in 2010, the government introduced an alternative option of a bridge as for the new Harbour Crossing.
Although there have been a great number of discussion on what can be the best option for the second harbour crossing, one thing can be ensured is that a new Harbour Crossing is crucially needed for the continual growing of the city and the prosperity of the whole community.
Varieties of discussion on the new harbour crossing will be summarised and discussed in the next article.
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