This story first appeared in the July issue of DieselTalk – CLICK HERE to download the magazine FREE
Cautious optimism has been the response from Auckland’s road freight industry to the opening of the Waterview Tunnel.
Freightways Group managing director Dean Bracewell says any improvement in travel times is good for the company’s transport contractors and everyone is rapt the tunnel is finally open.
“It is disappointing that vehicles carrying more than 50kg of dangerous goods cannot travel through the tunnel and that restriction affects many of our vehicles. Nonetheless, it will take traffic away from other routes where we go, helping the system overall,” Bracewell says.
“We feel that any investment in transport infrastructure is a very positive move.”
Mainfreight Transport general manager Carl George echoes Bracewell’s comments but also questions if the tunnel will add to congestion on the Northwestern Motorway.
“The biggest impact on our drivers being able to use the tunnel is around dangerous goods and the fact that if the truck requires a placard, they are not permitted to use the tunnel,” George says.
“With this in mind and looking at our current loads, we have our three westbound trucks which will be able to use it three to four times each per week.
“The other units that will look at using the tunnel are our vehicles in the Albany and further north areas. However, they will be using it purely as an alternate route to avoid traffic delays over the bridge.
“Once again their ability to use it dependant on their load and if they are carrying dangerous goods.”
He says he sees the tunnel easing congestion on the main arterial route through New Windsor and New Lynn to Glendene and Henderson but wonders if will this put more pressure on the Northwestern Motorway.
“I do see it is improving the truck’s current travel times to/from west to the Otahuhu depot.
“As for the proposed East–West Link corridor, as a branch, I don’t think it would have a huge impact due to where our Otahuhu depot is situated.
“Our units coming into the area are coming to the Otahuhu branch rather than passing through the area which the corridor will improve. Where it will help is the cross-town travel from the airport-Mangere area to the city and vice versa.”
That would be of more obvious benefit to the likes of metro or port-ops tankers, George says.
“It may perhaps be a good alternate route for far west, North Shore, and remote coastal areas – indeed if we have an issue on the Spaghetti Junction or the harbour bridge.”
Too much time between openings
Carr and Haslam managing director Chris Carr says he had been looking forward to the tunnel opening “just like I enjoyed the Harbour Bridge opening”.
“It has been a long time between those two significant infrastructure opportunities and not enough has happened in the 58 years in between.
“The reason we have congestion is simply that successive councils have been remiss in providing for a city which is growing. Given that the whole system is over-capacity, this addition won’t relieve it, but it will make changes.
“Any vehicle choosing to use the new route will mean fewer vehicles using SH1, so increasing traffic between the city and Waterview, new traffic through the tunnel and then an increase in traffic from Owairaka to Queenstown Rd,” he says.
“However there will be a reduction of traffic on SH1 and through Epsom, Hillsborough as well as reduced traffic on Mt Eden Rd and Dominion Rd.
“There is a risk of traffic increased congestion on the junction of SH20 and SH1 at Manukau city. To a degree, this will be offset by extra capacity from Manukau through to Papakura.”
The most important thing is that this will give more options, in a situation where there were previously few, he says.
“We have congestion because people have delayed and denied us reasonable chances to construct the infrastructure that a growing city needs.
“Successive councils have avoided their responsibilities to upgrade infrastructure, not only with roads but also with water, electricity, and housing, to name only four categories of failure to keep up with demand.”
