The Objective
'to identify the preferred option for delivering integrated, safe, responsive and sustainable cross harbour travel between the North Shore and the isthmus to facilitate the future growth and development of the region.’
Partners in the study
The Auckland Regional Council
Auckland Regional Transport Authority
Auckland City Council
North Shore City Council
Transit New Zealand
Issues shaping the project
- The long term vision for growth in the region
- The future role of alternative transport modes including public transport, cycling and walking
- The need to protect land for an additional crossing
- Creating an additional option to the Auckland Harbour Bridge, already carrying 160,000 vehicles per day (nearly 60 million vehicles a year)
- Growing congestion between the North Shore and Auckland
- Expected significant growth in population and employment across the region
- The need to provide certainty for communities who may be affected by another crossing.
Links
Waitemata Harbour Crossing Study 2008
Study Summary Report
Report Purpose.
Organisations responsible for planning transport infrastructure around the Auckland Harbour (the Project Partners) decided to undertake the Waitemata Harbour Crossing Study, to identify the preferred location for an additional harbour crossing.
The project is investigating options for improving travel across the Waitemata Harbour. All types of transport have been considered including bus, rail, heavy vehicles, cars, cyclists and pedestrian access.
Issues associated with the Wynyard Quarter
Plan Change prompted the need to this matter to be given some urgency.
The overall theme was focused towards improving passenger transport links between North Shore City and the CBD, improving wider regional connectivity for all modes of travel and improving the resilience and flexibility of the transport network.
This report describes the study, which was carried out in two separate phases; phase 1 involved development of a long list of possible options for a new harbour crossing and a subsequent assessment to determine a short list.
In Phase 2, the short listed options were refined and assessed in greater detail, from which a recommended option was identified for the new crossing.
 The full Phase II report
Conclusions of the Report
The Waitemata Harbour Crossing Study considered a wide range of options for developing a new harbour crossing to be operated in conjunction with the existing Auckland Harbour Bridge.
The objective of the study was to identify the option that best met the project objectives and functional principles developed by the Project Partners.
In Phase 1, a long list of 159 options was developed, which were assessed using criteria agreed with the Project Partners.
Three options were shortlisted, including one passenger transport only option (operating in conjunction with the Auckland Harbour Bridge) and two combined passenger transport / general traffic options.
Given the long term planning horizon of the study and the regional focus on developing the rail network, the passenger transport component of the crossing was optimised for rail.
In Phase 2 of the study, concepts for each short listed option were advanced to allow assessments to be made of economic, social and environmental effects, at a strategic level of detail. The focus of these assessments was to identify the relative merits of each option, rather than determine an absolute level of effects.
The assessment work led to the following key conclusions:
Improving passenger transport accessibility between North Shore City and the CBD was the first functional principle of the study. A passenger transport component to an additional crossing is therefore required.
Given the desire for Wynyard Quarter to be re-developed with a high passenger transport mode share, it would be preferable for a dedicated passenger transport facility to access this area.
Alternative vehicular connectivity would provide wider regional connections and benefits that passenger transport alone could not serve. This would maximise the broader economic benefits of a new crossing (agglomeration benefits)
Options that provide additional vehicular connectivity also provide opportunities to reallocate road space on the existing harbour bridge for either dedicated public transport (bus lanes) or active modes (cycling and walking) as well as providing an alternative traffic route across the
harbour during incidents and maintenance activities.
Bridge options were not favoured due to their visual impact on the harbour and surrounding areas such as Westhaven Marina.
Driven tunnel technology provides several advantages, including flexibility as to when the project is implemented. Options that incorporate rail and road could be constructed separately at different stages, although there would be savings in cost and disruption during construction
if they were built together
The evaluation showed that for passenger transport alone, Option 1C was the best option.
Option 1C provided high quality connectivity to key public transport nodes, including Wynyard Quarter.
As noted above, with driven tunnel technology, Option 1C could be provided effectively independent to whatever option (if any) was adopted for additional road capacity.
The choice of road crossings then becomes one of no crossing (Option 1), an option in the vicinity of Wynyard Quarter (Option 2), or an option aligned with Grafton Gully (Option 3).
Overall, the study found that:
The best overall performing option in the evaluation assessment was Option 2C, although the scoring range between options was not large.
The best performing option across a range of sensitivity tests which looked at different weightings for the five main criteria in the evaluation framework was Option 2C
Where Option 2C was not the best option in individual tests it still scored higher than the alternative road options.
The option that achieved the most balanced demand for general traffic between the new and existing crossings was Option 2C
Based on the outcomes described above, the conclusion of this study is that Option 2C best meets the project objectives and functional principles and therefore is recommended as the preferred route for a further Waitemata Harbour Crossing.
A map of options being considered
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