A truck crash at the entrance to Auckland’s Victoria Park tunnel on Monday has stirred debate over the need for a second harbour crossing and greater urgency when clearing accident sites.
Widespread congestion ensued after all four northbound lanes were blocked for nearly two and a half hours, with queues stretching back 9km to the Panmure-Ellerslie interchange, upsetting traffic flows across the central city.
Steve Mutton, NZTA’s acting state highways manager for Auckland, says that despite appearances, the incident was in fact handled efficiently and that the resilience of the Auckland network has increased in recent years, with upcoming projects set to further this.
“The quick initial response to the crash enabled us to re-open the motorway one hour earlier than planned – prior to the afternoon peak,” he says.
“As well as encouraging drivers to use alternative motorways, the afternoon lane barrier shift on the Auckland Harbour Bridge was also brought forward to provide additional northbound lanes earlier than normal to help ease central city congestion.
“The NZTA has opened several new motorways around Auckland in recent years and these motorways provided the alternative northbound links on Monday”.
Mutton says the initial response to motorway crashes is handled by the Joint Transport Operations Centre (run by both the NZ Transport Agency and Auckland Transport), at Smales Farm, Takapuna.
The centre uses cctv cameras to monitor the operation of the Auckland motorway network, key Auckland arterial roads and the northern busway.
“In the first instance, the centre works with all emergency services to co-ordinate the response at the crash scene. It also keeps the media informed – through traditional media releases and via social media outlets like twitter and Facebook. Equally important is keeping motorway drivers informed on alternative routes, through use of electronic messages boards on gantries over the motorways.
“The response on the ground is managed by the NZTA’s Auckland Motorway Alliance – which is responsible for the maintenance and operation of the city’s motorway network. In this case, the AMA would manage the road closure to ensure both drivers and those working at the crash scene were safe. After the highway had been cleared of the crash vehicles, the AMA inspects the highway to ensure that it is safe for use again before re-opening.”
