Auckland Business Chamber says the Harbour Bridge incident highlights that the city “desperately” needs a second harbour crossing.
Auckland Business Chamber chief executive Michael Barnett says it was a “disaster waiting to happen” and shows the city has “no Plan B”.
“It’s been clear for years that Auckland desperately needs a second harbour crossing, but instead of getting on with it we’ve taken an attitude of waiting to ‘cross that bridge’ until the worst happens,” Barnett says.
“Auckland’s recovery from lockdown and getting the city and our economy moving again is now obstructed with major disruptions to commerce, mobility, productivity and commuters, with a request to mitigate the bumper to bumper traffic by staying home – again – because our bridge is broken,” he says.
“We have ambitions to be a world-class city with world-class infrastructure and services. Instead the city’s resilience and recovery from Covid is being set back with one incident spotlighting the fragility and vulnerability of one of the our most vital transport lifelines.
“This cannot happen again. We need commitment to build that second crossing instead of a continuing talk fest with no dates, no signed off plans and no tenders,” Barnett says.
