I didn’t get the chance to make it to the expo on the Waterview Connection today, although some commenters here did go along and it’s interesting to hear what they have had to say about it. I will try to get along next week.
One interesting things to come out of the expo is a pile of additional information, that is available to view in this document. It covers everything from the planning process to noise minimisation to tunnelling techniques. From a planning perspective, it’s interesting to hear that the notice of requirement is likely to be lodged around the middle of this year – so if you’re planning to make a submission on the Waterview Connection then it would pay to start thinking about what you’re going to say now.
The diagram below shows the construction techniques that will be used for the project (which now also includes some of the work to State Highway 16):
Looking at the State Highway 16 widening part of this project (which seems to have been lumped in together with the Waterview Connection project itself), one of my biggest criticisms of this motorway widening is that it will simply induce traffic – meaning that before particularly long the motorway will be just as congested as it is now. The information in the diagram below tends to confirm my suspicions:
The graph immediately above shows that widening state highway 16 will result in many more vehicles using it than would have done so otherwise, had the project not been constructed. What I find particularly interesting is that traffic on Te Atatu Road and Rosebank Road is also higher in the “2026 with project” scenario than it is in the “2026 no project scenario”. So not only is the project inducing traffic on the motorway itself, it’s also inducing traffic on the surrounding roads. NZTA claim that, in general, the motorway widening will divert traffic from local and arterial roads onto the motorway, although I’m not sure how much I really believe that as it seems NZTA do not believe in the concept of induced demand.
It’s a bit of a different story for the Waterview Connection part of the project, with some of the traffic benefits here will actually be quite real, as the new route means that local and arterial routes will no longer have to serve the functions of of a connection between SH16 and SH20. So roads like Carrington Road and Blockhouse Bay road will have long term benefits. I do still question whether this is really the most essential way to spend billions of dollars on transport in the Auckland region, but I guess at least with the Waterview Connection part of the project I think there will be long-term benefits with cars drawn off existing local roads. With the State Highway 16 widening I really can’t see any long-term benefits.
Apparently there was some talk about how the Avondale-Southdown rail corridor will be protected, and construction of that corridor “made easier” by the Waterview Connection project. That is certainly a good thing, and something I will look to find out more about when I visit next Saturday.
“I’m not sure how much I really believe that as it seems NZTA do not believe in the concept of induced demand” – I’m pretty sure this wouldn’t even be a factor in their planning. I could be wrong
And the obvious question has to be, if it costs X amount to tunnel 2/3rds, why not keep tunnelling? Just carry on!
Yes good point Christopher. A question I want to ask is how the cost of the Waterview part (approx $1.1 billion) of this latest alignment is $800 million cheaper than the cost of the previous alignment. Surely tunnelling through the other half of Allan Wood Reserve wouldn’t cost $800 million, when the cost of the rest of the tunnel is about that?
Intuitively these traffic figures seem a massive underestimate. Te Atatu Rd for eg- only growing by 1/7th of current capacity in TWENTY YEARS, not taking account of the expected growth of Henderson, Westgate, Kumeu, Hobsonville, North Shore plus what about all the induced traffic from the SH16-SH18 upgrade which will bring a lot of traffic from the North away from the harbour bridge. You’d also think that the Waterview connection will bring a lot of people from SH20 through Te Atatu who would have previously gone Hillsborough or Maioro.
My pet project would be to put another bridge accross the Whau River lower down which would take a large amount of traffic off Te Atatu Rd and save the interchange a huge amount of congestion. (PS Buses could use this connection too)
Yeah a road link between Glendene and the Rosebank Peninsula would be incredibly useful. Unfortunately it seems the current thinking is encouraging more people to use fewer routes – by widening motorways – rather than spreading traffic out among more different routes. Very 1960s thinking.
It’s bizzare. I can’t for the life of me figure it out. It costs $X to do 2/3rds, and on questioning, it costs 2x $X to do 1/3rd. Does geology come into play? I really can’t figure it out unless Joyce merely wants to piss on the piss poor folk of Owairaka.
TopCat – I agree with you. Another bridge over the Whau River would have the potential to take a huge amount of traffic off the Te Atatu interchange by enabling the load to be spread better. I reckon that up to half of all the traffic using Te Atatu could be moved if a new bridge was built between the roundabout on Rosebank Rd and either Mcleod Rd or Hepburn Rd. The Hepburn bridge would also take a good chunk of traffic off the Gt North Rd interchange.
Mcleod Rd would be quicker to get to places like Henderson, Glendene etc and Hepburn would be give better access to Glen Eden, Kelston, Titirangi while also having a good impact on Henderson and Glendene. From the roundabout on Rosebank to Mcleod Rd it is about 1.2kim and it is about 1.9km to Hepburn
The problem as I see see it is the funding model. If its a SH- Motorway there seem unlimited funds to funnel more and more cars through the choke points in the system. if its an arterial road, which provides a sensible connection between suburbs- the local authorities are squeezed, even though these local roads will save $millions in SH widening, construction delays bridges and congestion.
The other example we have talked about where building bigger is dumber is at Warkworth, where there is a five lane mega-intersection is being buildozed through the middle of town by Transit. All that would be required is a connecting road to the Matakana-Sandspit Road but RDC won’t construct it because Transit won’t help them pay for it. Really dumb and expensive in lots of ways.
“I’m not sure how much I really believe that as it seems NZTA do not believe in the concept of induced demand” – I’m pretty sure this wouldn’t even be a factor in their planning. I could be wrong”
NZTA have admitted that induced demand could pretty much wipe out the gains of the fourth southbound lane between the Newmarket Viaduct and Greenlance. While that is obviously a different project, it shows that they ad leats admit the issue can exist… ;-/
Yeah I agree TopCat. The depressing thing is that the 2008 Government Policy Statement had recognised that there was little to be further gained from throwing money at state highways as it could be more efficiently spent elsewhere – like on arterial routes, public transport and so forth. However, for populist/ideological reasons this government shifted things hugely back towards funding state highway projects.
Effectively we have the result of fewer, bigger projects (which makes for better news stories I guess), meaning in the longer term more congestion on feeder routes to those massively wide state highways…. and increased auto-dependency because of all the money being channeled into projects designed to make us drive more.
The Herald is reporting this morning that enabeling works for this will begin next month.
They’d better hope the board of inquiry doesn’t decline the notice of requirement. There goes any sense of an impartial decision on the consenting….
Happens when you create a power vacuum-the sharks move in, civil society starts to disintegrate and corruption abounds. Except this time the power vacuum is one of our choice so we really can’t complain. Hopefully we can avoid the gillotines in public squares when the revolution turns on its creators.
If the environmental mitigation is excellent, the parkland replaced, a busway built on the NW instead, this was announced as the “final” piece of the motorway network and they built the SAL, I’d almost, almost say this was an excellent project but it doesn’t so I can’t…
The motorway network will never be completed. The infrastructure contractors wouldn’t stand for it.
How can you complete a motorway network unless you “complete” Auckland? Since Auckland is growing, the calls for more motorways will go on too.