Nearly 22 million motorists have journeyed through Auckland’s Waterview Tunnel in its first year of operation.
An average of 62,000 vehicles a day have driven through the connection since opening on July 2, 2017.
The twin tunnels are busiest on weekdays when numbers often exceed 80,000. The weekly average is about 432,500 vehicles while the monthly average is close to 2 million.
About 2,000 more vehicles go north than south per day.
NZ Transport Agency director of regional relationships Steve Mutton says the project has proved a great success.
“Auckland drivers have spent the last year working out how the Waterview Tunnel works best for them.
“The greatest benefit is that it’s made most journeys more reliable, even for drivers not using the tunnels,” Mutton says.
The tunnels were the biggest in a series of projects to create the Western Ring Route and complete the strategic motorway network.
They connect SH1, SH16 and SH18 in the north and west with the CBD and SH20 and SH20A to the airport and SH1 in the south.
“Now it’s possible to travel in almost every direction across the city and have choices.
“Waterview has helped make journey times more predictable and reliable. It’s also taken pressure off local roads, improving journey times for shorter trips and public transport,” Mutton says.
