VIC PARK TUNNEL - OBJECTIVES

Motorists who travel on this busy stretch of road regularly experience congestion through Victoria Park Viaduct and St Mary's Bay during the morning and evening rush hours.

However, this section of the motorway is also becoming increasingly congested during inter-peak periods i.e. in the middle of the day and on weekends.

In the mornings, the Victoria Park Viaduct is a major problem because it has only two lanes for traffic heading into the city which often results in queues onto the Harbour Bridge.

In the evenings, the bottleneck occurs at the Wellington St on-ramp and on Victoria Park Viaduct back through the central motorway junction.

Project goals

The project seeks to balance the capacity of the Auckland Harbour Bridge traffic by managing the traffic flow through St Mary's Bay and across the Victoria Park Viaduct to Wellington Street on the Southern Motorway.

The project aims to:

• Make best use of the capacity of the Harbour Bridge
• Improve safety and efficiency of access by road between the North Shore and Auckland, and between Central Auckland and surrounding areas.

The project benefits include:

• Improved traffic capacity and priority for buses
• Better pedestrian links
• Preservation of key heritage icons including Bird Cage Hotel
• Mitigation of noise effects via tunnelling and noise walls
• Retention of public open space in Victoria Park.