Tunnel under Wellington remains on the cards

Wednesday, 11 September 2024

There was no specific mention of it when Transport Minister Simeon Brown released his roads of national significance but the long Wellington tunnel was there, he says.

Join the conversation and have your say in the comments below.

A long tunnel for Wellington, running beneath the city and Mount Victoria, remains on the cards despite appearances otherwise.

Transport Minister Simeon Brown recently announced the Government would spend more than $32 billion on road and transport projects in the next three years. These included 17 roads of national significance.

In Wellington, these included a Petone to Grenada link road, the Hutt Valley Cross Valley Link, a second Mount Victoria tunnel, and an upgrade of roads around the Basin Reserve – but no mention of the long tunnel.

A planned city bypass proved highly controversial, and resulted in Karo Drive with the Pukeahu underpass.

The idea of a long tunnel was first made by former public transport boss Greg Pollock, who in December suggested a 3km-long tunnel from north of the Terrace tunnel to Kilbirnie via the hospital.

A variation on the idea was given a shot in the arm in April when Brown asked NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi to prepare advice on a longer tunnel option – a 4km tunnel with two lanes of traffic each way between the Terrace Tunnel and Wellington Rd in Kilbirnie.

Getting people across Wellington city without traffic jams has been a decades-old problem in the capital, with a planned city bypass proving highly controversial and resulting in Karo Drive with the Pukeahu underpass.

Meanwhile, dealing with congestion around the Basin Reserve has been no less problematic with a planned flyover failing and talk of a second Mount Victoria tunnel for decades with little actual work.

But on Tuesday Brown confirmed the long tunnel option was still on the table and was one of the options being considered for a second Mount Victoria tunnel.

“NZTA has been undertaking work to bring the long tunnel proposal up to the same standard as the parallel tunnel proposal, so that the costs and benefits of each project can be more easily compared,” he said.

“A second Mt Victoria tunnel will be one of the largest infrastructure projects Wellington has seen in a long time, and we want to ensure that we choose the right option for the city’s future.”

Online comments are moderated during working hours and may not appear immediately.