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Would a new harbour bridge be better for Auckland than a tunnel crossing?

By MSN NZ
Thursday, December 3, 2009
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A design plan for a new Auckland harbour bridge which would include a tidal-powered travelator, a walkway and a cycleway is being met with mixed reviews.

The design was put forward by the Anzac Centenary Bridge Group.

The lobby group hopes the proposed bridge, which would stretch 3km across Waitemata Harbour, will be built by Anzac Day 2015, according to media reports.

The bridge would span at least eight lanes wide with twin tram tunnels underneath the road.

There would also be a truck lane, a bus lane and pedestrian access.

Group spokesman Richard Simpson has said the bridge, which would run from Westhaven’s tank farm area to the Onewa Rd interchange, would be the best option for a second harbour crossing.

"The new Anzac centenary bridge would be cheaper to build and operate than the new tunnel or existing bridge option," he said.

Mr Simpson estimated a tunnel would cost around $4 billion as opposed to the bridge, estimated to cost between $2b and $3b.

Transport Minister Steven Joyce has said the design was "interesting" but has not commented on whether a tunnel or a bridge would be the best options.

Would a new harbour bridge be better for Auckland than a tunnel crossing? Would a design like the one proposed by the lobby group contribute to the city’s identity?

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User comments
people are being made redundant. the cost of living has sky rocketed. do the people who run our country honestly have 2 functional brain cells between the lot of them. if you have this money to spend, then spend it on fixing your people first before you go trying to hide the human carnage. how can you expect visitors to our country to feel welcome if it's own people don't feel welcome. again i say, the people voted in their parliamentary representatives, you have the power to vote them out.
what's wrong with the bridge we already have, other countries have tunnels why should we be the same we are new zealand lets be different, lets show our own creative flare, or lets just keep the bridge we have.. Im sure we could spend $3million on something better like rec centers around new zealand for our teenagers, everything is so expensive its hard to keep your kids of the streets during the holidays when things like bowling, mini golf and the movies are so expensive these days!! the average person on the average income with 2 children just can not afford it!!! lets create something fun to keep the kids of the streets and out of trouble!! a rec centre with a indoor playground, a basketball court, a rock climbing wall, an art room with supplies, a small collection of reading materials, a t.v room with kids and family movies, that sounds like better spent money to me then a bridge new zealand doesn't need!
Another Harbour Bridge vs a Tunnel Mmmm! Auckland certainly needs more capacity to get people across their harbour. They also need a better public transport system which at present is pathetic. Well if they're going to build something to get folks more efficiently across the harbour, obviously go with the cheapest option. But all that another harbour crossing is going to do is deliver people more efficiently and quickly to the gridlock chaos at both ends. Sorting out the chaos needs to have top priority, so public transportation should be given urgent attention first.
for auckland to be a supercity. it needs to have a developed public transport system. right now, this doesnt exist. so our long term goal must be to develop this. but the existing problem (and a problem that has existed ever since the harbor bridge was built) is the traffic congestion. putting in 2 to 3 billion is not going to get us anywhere near a sufficient public transport system any time soon. and right now, we cannot just sit here and ignore the existing traffic problems. something has to be done about it, whether it be bridge or tunnel. of course, this is not going to be a long term solution to the transportation problem in auckland. but lets be realistic, we have to have balance in tackling both long term and short term problems. putting money into public transportation is not just a good idea, its a necessity. but at this moment in time, we have a more urgent problem that calls for attention.
Again I shake my head at the idea of building more roads in Auckland. Imagine the world class subway, skytrain and bus system that you could build in Auckland for 4 billion dollars. Have any of you been to Vancouver or Melbourne lately? The public transport systems there are fast, clean and incredibly cheap. They are not perfect but they at least get people out of their cars and free up congestion. What does another bridge really achieve?
Speaking for the Other 3 Million people that live in this country, how about...No!. Auckland is a filthy city to visit so why bother wasting tax payers money from Hard workers in others cities on Unclean, Poverty stricken Auckland, seems a waste of Money, time and Effort. Auckland always needs an Upgrade because their City council Never plans anything right, Wellington, Chirstchurch and Dunedin, hav councils with their heads screwew on and can Manage a couple hundred years without upgrading, i recently visited Auckland and thought that it was filth...Wellington is a Beautiful city and is said to be the best city our country has to offer (Lonely travel 2009) so why not put money into Wellington...or christchurch?
wat a f***en stupid idea we soooooooooo don't need a new bridge
a new harbour bridge is a stupid idea 1 auckland doesn't have enough money to build a new one and 2 our harbour bridge is perfectly fine and stable so why would we need a new one wats the point ??
Explosions? Yeah.. For how long? Not long at all. Look at the bridge between England and France. That is way bigger than the one we will have in the harbour. It is doing well. Nothing wrong yet. If they can do it, why can't us? The Bridge isn't KIWI!!! THINK KIWI...! You honestly have no brains, if you think a bridge will work. Fumes will still exist.. We can easily turn into China. If people weren't Lazy. Then we wouldnt be in this situation. People take to much for granted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The tunnel will be a better option. It will not destroy the city.. The land is fine to tunnel through.. If it wasn't, they wouldn't have consider it.. You cannot have 2 bridges in the harbour. It will look hideous. And honestly. How Are you going to fit it next to the current one? And it is always saying, no people, bikes etc on the motorway. Why is it allowed on the bridge? I think its a stupid idea. The tunnel = more lanes, Bridge?? = well, you cant have more than 6 really can you? I dont really care about the bikers, they think they own the road, and they are already having many changes to our roads.. Where they never use the bike lane on Lake Road.. I have lived here my whole life! Keep it how it is! Its fine! People are getting greedy. And what if a bridge doesnt work? Huh? Money gone down the drain. And Auckland Destroyed!

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