How much are Auckland Harbour Bridge closures costing the economy?
Monday, 19 August 2024
The irregular closures of the Auckland Harbour Bridge on windy days is costing the economy millions but there is still no plan for a new crossing.
That’s despite consultants working on options for the crossing charging taxpayers $75,000 per week.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi data shows the Harbour Bridge has been closed temporarily 20 times since it was damaged by a truck in 2020. Those closures have totalled almost 435 minutes.
Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen crunched the numbers into a model and estimated the productivity cost of those closures to be $2.1 million.
But when he factored in commuters or drivers changing their route on days the bridge had been closed, that figure climbed to $35.6m.
He calculated that a diversion from Wairau Rd to Karangahape Rd via State Highway 16 instead of over the bridge added 21 minutes to a journey and on average that 170,000 cars used the crossing each day.
“On the one hand the numbers are not enormous … but there’s the wider delays and hit to business.
“It’s certainly right to be looking at the alternatives and how they work it into the entire transport system.”
Transport Minister Simeon Brown said a new harbour crossing was a “key priority” for the Government but has not produced a plan.
That’s despite Waka Kotahi having spent $36.9m on consultants over the past three years to June 30, according to information obtained under the Official Information Act.
The biggest bill was to IBC Alliance which charged $27.5m on an indicative business case. The next largest bills were to Zeal Advisory Limited
The data also revealed Waka Kotahi was continuing to spend. BusinessDesk previously reported that spending until May 1 was $36.3m; meaning an extra $600,000 has been spent in eight weeks.
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has been an outspoken critic of the spending on consultants. Texts between Wayne Brown and Simeon Brown show in January the mayor urging the minister to reconsider the harbour crossing study.
“Even more money wasted, we need a list of consultants and show much they got so they can be black listed [sic], Wayne.”
The mayor did not address questions about whether he would follow through and blacklist the consultants but said the continued spending was “a lot of money for nothing to see. It looks to be a very expensive 'solution’.”
“I’m not at all convinced by NZTA’s plan for a tunnel under the harbour, which is reported to cost $15 billion (three times the City Rail Link), but we all know projects often double in cost from these early estimations.
“What makes this even worse is that this money is unlikely to solve the problem given the tunnel takes cars from one the congested Northern Motorway to the even more congested Spaghetti Junction.“
Wayne Brown said he was also concerned even more money would be poured into the project with figures supplied to the Regional Land Transport Plan showing $240m would be spent in the next three years
“Which I assume must be largely on consultants,” the mayor said.
“I urge the government to drop this wild plan, which was dreamed up by their predecessors, and reconsider bridges which are much cheaper and less risky.”
But the transport minister defended the continued spend on crossing consultants saying NZTA had engaged a technical team of experts “to explore various options for the new crossing and provide the Government with advice”.
The current phase of this work is nearing completion and will soon be presented to the NZTA Board and Cabinet for consideration and approval of the next steps in the coming months.
The transport minister refused to say whether the crossing would include a bridge option, which is the mayor’s preference. He said NZTA was independent and could not be directed by ministers.