The Government is taking tighter control of Auckland’s proposed new Waitematā Harbour Crossing, ordering another detailed business case before committing to what could become New Zealand’s biggest and most expensive infrastructure project.
Transport Minister Chris Bishop and Auckland Minister Simon Watts have confirmed the project will become Crown-led, with an independent Senior Responsible Owner appointed to oversee the next phase and report directly to the Ministers of Finance, Transport and Auckland, as well as Cabinet.
The move comes despite the NZ Transport Agency completing an Investment Case in May, with its board endorsing a tunnel as its preferred option on May 15.
Cabinet has decided it still does not have enough information to select a final crossing, particularly around how the project would be funded, financed, governed and delivered.
The new Detailed Business Case will put the tunnel option under further scrutiny while examining how another harbour crossing fits with Auckland’s wider transport network.
That includes the Auckland Motorway Plan, possible time-of-use road charging and the planned 30-year Auckland Integrated Transport Plan.
The Government will search internationally for an experienced project leader capable of overseeing a mega-project of this scale.
The existing Auckland Harbour Bridge opened in 1959 and now carries around 170,000 vehicles a day on the busiest State Highway corridor in the country.
The Government says the corridor currently supports close to $1 billion in economic activity each year, with that expected to rise to $3.9 billion by 2051. Major renewal work on the existing bridge in coming decades could also require extended lane closures, potentially creating billions of dollars in economic disruption without an alternative crossing.
A tunnel is not the only idea still on the table.
Cabinet has agreed to commission another independent investigation into Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown’s proposed Meola Reef option, provided Auckland Council wants to participate. The council would be invited to help scope the work and contribute towards its cost.
The Government will also consider a private-sector proposal involving an innovative construction method to upgrade the existing Auckland Harbour Bridge.
The decisions mean Aucklanders will have to wait longer before knowing exactly what the next harbour crossing will look like.
The Detailed Business Case is expected to be completed in 2027. Cabinet will then consider that work, alongside the Meola Reef study and the market-led bridge proposal, before selecting its preferred option.
For Auckland, the project represents much more than another road across the Waitematā. It will shape how hundreds of thousands of people move around Tāmaki Makaurau for generations and could become one of the defining infrastructure decisions facing the country.
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