The Auckland Business Forum wants the incoming Government to fast-track completion of the East-West Link road between Onehunga and Mt Wellington and the third rail line between Wiri and Westfield.
Auckland Business Forum chairperson Micheal Barnett says both projects are critically linked and vital to moving Auckland forward with speed and urgency.
“Auckland businesses (and their employees) expect the next Government to step-up the pace providing a modern, integrated transport network embracing road and rail systems providing safe, efficient public transportation and goods distribution services,” says Barnett.
Barnett says that delaying funding and construction is not an option for these projects.
He believes any further delay means losing momentum and will fail to capitalise further on the benefits created by the Waterview Tunnel.”
According to the Auckland Business Forum, within the East-West Link route, there are thousands of firms generating $10 billion and employing 70,000 people in this area.
It says around 6000 heavy trucks, or one truck every 10 seconds, pass through the Church – Neilson street intersection every working day.
The nearby Southdown Rail Freight Terminal processes more than 400,000 containers a year and is New Zealand’s third-largest container port. Each container needs a truck trip for the final part of its journey, but the current local road system is not fit for purpose according to the forum.
“This area is one of Auckland’s worst congestion hot spots, costing millions of dollars and time delays to major companies that distribute goods across Auckland and the upper North Island from the nearby railhead and other distribution firms,” says Barnett.
He says the area is also Auckland’s second largest employment hub (after central Auckland) and the logistics rail and road hub for the “Golden Economic Triangle’ of Auckland, Waikato, and Bay of Plenty.
“Both the East-West Link and rail line have been on Auckland’s agenda for decades. Fast-tracking them will move Auckland a step closer to having a modern integrated transport network,” says Barnett.
“A fit-for-purpose East West Link will bring similar benefits – taking trucks off Onehunga retail and community streets, and reducing congestion and reliability of travel and delivery,” he says.
“Coupling these projects with the Third Main rail line will give Auckland’s industrial heartland a transport system that can keep pace with the 6% projected freight growth a year forecast for the foreseeable future. A third line also maximizes capacity for the commuter rail network,” says Barnett.
