NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, in partnership with Ngā Iwi o Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland Transport and Auckland Council, 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. As 40% of travel through this corridor is not Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland-bound, this project will provide greater connection for the whole Upper North Island and unlock significant value for the entire country. It 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.
Timings
This phase of technical work started in late 2022.
Although the long-term solutions may take some time to deliver, Auckland Transport and NZTA are already progressing enhancements to the Northern Busway to help keep up with growing bus patronage and ease pressure on the motorway network.
Previous 2019/2020 business case phase
The previous business case in 2019/2020 recommended a programme of investments and this phase of planning work built on these findings. Key components of the programme were:
- Further investigate options to optimise existing infrastructure and delay the need for major investment (eg by influencing growth patterns or using road pricing).
- Upgrade and enhance the Northern Busway over the next few years to increase its capacity, reliability and overall service quality into the future. A Detailed Business Case further investigating Northern Busway enhancements has been completed by AT and funding for implementation is now being sought.
- Develop an additional rail-based rapid transit connection for the North Shore (including across the Waitematā Harbour to the city centre), that supplements and integrates with the upgraded Northern Busway and the wider public transport network to provide more public transport travel options.
- Improve roading connectivity to address resilience issues and growing all-day congestion on the state highway system, including the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
The previous 2019/2020 business case document is available to view on the Technical reports page.
