Councillors fail to get excited over second harbour crossing plans

The latest plans for a new harbour crossing have received a ho-hum response from Auckland councillors. Photo / Dean Purcell

The latest plans for a new harbour crossing have received a ho-hum response from Auckland councillors, who cannot get excited about a project forecast for 20 years down the track.

Mike Lee yesterday told the transport committee he chairs that there was an element of politics in a Transport Agency report that estimated the cost of a new bridge at up to $3.9 billion, while two three-lane tunnels would cost $5.3 billion.

There had been extensive work over a number of years resulting in a 2008 report that found widespread support for a harbour tunnel, he said.

Mr Lee said Transport Minister Steven Joyce had reopened the issue, resulting in the Transport Agency releasing a new report last month.

"I think it would be a mistake to be drawn into prolonged debate or argument over this second harbour crossing issue ... given the other transport priorities we have, including who is the going to pay for the EMUs [new trains] and how the Government will pay for the CBD [rail] link. In some ways, this is premature at best and an attempt to confound the whole Auckland transport debate at worst.

"The public have a clear idea of what they would prefer, the mayor has a vision ... that includes rail across the harbour that can only be feasibly carried by tunnel," Mr Lee said.

Council officers gave councillors a briefing on the latest report for a harbour crossing, which they said was not needed for 20 years to cope with the city's growth and to bolster the ageing harbour bridge.

The committee barely debated the issue. It passed a series of recommendations, including receiving the latest report and taking a lead with Auckland Transport and the Transport Agency to investigate rapid transit opportunities in the North Shore.