About the project

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, in partnership with Ngā Iwi o Tāmaki Makaurau, have embarked on this crucial phase in the planning and delivery of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most significant city-shaping project in coming decades, the Waitematā Harbour Connections project.

Waitematā Harbour Connections is looking at the short, medium and long-term options for more efficient and resilient movement of people, goods and services across Te Waitematā, connecting people to transport options across the region and beyond. 

This is a transformational project, the significance of which will be felt far beyond Auckland.  It is a nationally important, high-volume, strategic corridor providing substantial local, regional and national benefits.

Resilient connections

Efficient, reliable, safe, and resilient freight transport – within cities, between regions and to ports – is vital for a thriving economy.  This corridor is a nationally significant, high-volume, strategic corridor providing substantial local, regional, and national benefits and a key route for the nation’s freight network, which relies heavily on the existing Auckland Harbour Bridge and wider network to transport goods across the country.

The current Auckland Harbour Bridge structure is also coming under increasing operational pressure, affecting the resilience of the bridge and the wider network, and these pressures are forecast to increase further as population, employment and freight needs continues to grow.  Unexpected incidents such as crashes and high wind events mean the bridge and wider network are increasingly compromised, causing disruption for all users of the bridge.

The Auckland Harbour Bridge carries most major services and utilities, such as power, telecommunications and water and we will look at how we integrate these services into any new or existing infrastructure to continue to support these essential connections.

About this phase of work

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) engaged a team of technical experts to complete a thorough assessment, looking at a range of options and recommend a way forward. The recommendations will include the form, function, route and timing of future cross harbour connections, while also looking at existing resilience issues. 

In December 2023, the Government advised that Waitematā Harbour Connections should not proceed with the light rail or walking and cycling components of the project.

During 2024, the Government confirmed that progressing an additional Waitematā Harbour crossing was a priority and the project was included in the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS) 2024. The project was also included in the National Land Transport Programme 2024-27 by the NZTA Board.

NZTA is progressing geotechnical, environmental, and utilities investigations to gain a comprehensive understanding of ground and seabed conditions. During this period, NZTA will refine the scope of the crossing and develop a more detailed understanding of the costs, risks, trade-offs, and assumptions, as well as undertaking market testing, for the tunnel and bridge option, prior to seeking a decision on which additional crossing option to progress.

Timings

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