Nearly $1m spent on consultant fees to investigate Wellington’s long tunnel

National promised to have spades in the ground for a second Mt Victoria tunnel within its first term and is now investigating a long tunnel underneath the city. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Nearly $1 million has already been spent on consultants to investigate a 4km tunnel underneath Wellington and the Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, says a further $550,000 could be needed to complete the work.

Last month, the Herald revealed a consultant and contractor were helping NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) to look into the long tunnel that would bypass the city. Specialist expertise was also being drawn from professional services firms.

At that time, NZTA said the cost of these contracts was commercially sensitive.

Since there were only two fulltime individuals involved, disclosing specific sums paid could also breach their privacy by effectively disclosing their remuneration, NZTA said.

However, a written parliamentary question by Labour’s transport spokesman Tangi Utikere reveals $949,349 was spent on consulting services to assess the viability of the long tunnel option, as of May 24.

Brown told the Herald that NZTA expected to spend between $1.3m and $1.5m to complete the investigation. The costs are being funded through the National Land Transport Fund.

It comes after National promised to end Labour’s “gravy train” of consultant spending and as NZTA staff are losing their jobs as part of the Government’s public sector cuts.

Utikere said he was “gobsmacked” when he saw the cost of investigating a project National did not campaign on.

“The Government has already promised Wellingtonians that construction on a second Mt Victoria tunnel will start before the next election, they should not be continuing to waste money of this magnitude at a time when the public sector and folk in Wellington are doing it pretty tough right now.”

Brown said he has set clear expectations that NZTA’s work will be completed by the middle of this year and at a minimal cost.

“The total amount spent on this project is considerably less than the $160 million on Let’s Get Wellington Moving and will allow NZTA to clearly determine next steps on this important project.”

Utikere said it was irresponsible spending.

“Many have been led to believe by Simeon Brown that this is not going to take a lot of time and it’s not going to take a lot of money. To have something that is likely to be in excess of a million dollars in a pretty short period of time is pretty irresponsible.”

The Government was committed to building a second Mt Victoria tunnel, Brown said.

“The last Government dismissed a long tunnel option as their view was it would benefit motorists reducing travel times, which was not their priority.”

A long tunnel could make trips in the Wellington region to the airport up to 15 minutes faster. This is compared to motorists saving between two and three minutes for the current parallel or diagonal tunnel proposals at Mt Victoria.

The work NZTA is undertaking will bring both the long tunnel and parallel tunnel proposals up to the same standard so the costs, benefits and opportunities of each project can be assessed, Brown has said.

“We want to make sure we have all options on the table so that the right one can proceed that reduces congestion and helps get Wellingtonians to where they want to go quickly and safely.”

The long tunnel option aligned with priorities in the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport, Brown has said, including reduced travel times, greater resilience along the State Highway 1 corridor and improved safety for road users, pedestrians and cyclists.

“The option would also see better urban amenity through greater reallocation of surface-level road space to active modes and public transport in the CBD and greater opportunities for housing intensification.”

“Enhanced regional connectivity to the airport and hospital would also be achieved with reduced city and state highway congestion.”

NZTA is also investigating funding and financing options for the tunnel which could include a public-private partnership, tolls and value capture.

Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.