Auckland's Waterview Tunnel slicing commute times

Tuesday, 4 July 2017

The Waterview Tunnel appears to have curbed congestion across the Super City.

Travel times for drivers heading to Auckland Airport appear to have been cut by around 20 minutes with the opening of the new Waterview Tunnel.

The tunnel opened on Sunday and on Tuesday the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) released figures showing some drastic travel time cuts.

It's a waiting game to see if key Auckland arterial routes like congested Dominion Rd will be relieved by Waterview Connection.

The NZTA data showed there was a 20-minute time saving for those using the Waterview Tunnel to travel from the CBD to the airport at 8am on Monday compared with using Manukau Rd and Gillies Ave, on the previous Monday morning.

The 42-minute CBD/airport average travel time dropped to 22 minutes.

Lynfield resident Grant Brodie, who works in Ponsonby, said 'door-to-door' he's saving 10 to 15 minutes each way using Waterview's tunnels.

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Meanwhile, travel in the opposite direction was 13 minutes faster during the same time period, dropping from an average 37 minutes to 24 minutes.

On Tuesday morning an NZTA spokeswoman said there were no snarl-ups in the tunnel as it faced its second morning rush.

'The tunnel is free flowing again this morning, there's also a smaller tail at the link for the southern motorway on the northwestern, so this is where people join the southern from SH16.

'And the northwestern is flowing very well into the city.'

The spokeswoman said feedback from the tunnel's first working day had been 'very positive', with people reporting substantially shorter journeys.

Lynfield resident Grant Brodie, who works in Ponsonby, said 'door-to-door' he's saving 10 to 15 minutes each way using Waterview Connection.

That's despite travelling 15km on the new route compared to 13km using his old cross-town route.

'It's great!'

NZTA Auckland highway manager Brett Gliddon said travel time figures were 'backing up what people are telling us, that their journeys to and from the airport are more efficient when they use the Waterview, and the tunnel is also providing an additional route which is easing congestion on local roads'.

Travel times on Manukau Rd and Gillies Ave, a previous main route to the airport with numerous stop-start lights and pinch-points had dropped by a four-minute average, NZTA said.

Time savings ranging from three to four minutes were also reported on other routes including Great North, Carrington and Mt Albert Rds.

The northwestern motorway into the city during the morning was running faster, with time savings up to 20 minutes, and a six-minute saving on the southern motorway between Papakura and the city during the morning peak.

Freight businesses had also been reporting time savings of around 40 minutes on wharf-to-airport round trips.

Notes of caution

Despite his enthusiasm for the new highway, commuter Grant Brodie was bracing himself for the return of school and university traffic, something NZTA echoes.

Waterview Connection's first few days had gone 'very smoothly', traffic volumes had been 'slightly lower across the motorway network which is probably because of university holidays and some schools starting their holidays this week', Gliddon said.

'Opening such a large piece of transport infrastructure means travel patterns will change. Auckland's growing population means traffic will still be heavy in some areas at peak times.

'We will continue to work with Auckland Transport to monitor and manage traffic flows across the transport system.

'Heavy traffic and queues are still likely in the coming weeks, while people find their way and work out the best route for them.

'We encourage everyone to plan their journeys.'