KEY POINTS:
Auckland City's proposed $40 million-plus bus corridor to Newmarket has survived a change of political guard with a decision to award a contract for the bulk of the project.
The new Citizens and Ratepayers-dominated city council last night approved a contract for $29.6 million for the main work of widening the 4km corridor between Britomart and the intersection of Park and Khyber Pass Rds.
Separate tenders will be called next year for strengthening Grafton Bridge to take up to 1500 bus trips a day from the end of 2009 - and possibly even light rail in the more distant future.
The contract award to Fulton Hogan, ahead of two other tenders, means the "central connector" corridor, which is aimed at chopping up to 14 minutes off bus trips, has survived a financial review promised by the new council of about 40 transport projects on the drawing board.
But transport committee chairman Ken Baguley indicated that a proposal to close the bridge to general traffic on a permanent basis between 7am and 7pm on each week day - reserving it for buses, emergency vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians - remained under review.
He was pleased an earlier proposal for a 24-hour ban on general traffic had been modified.
"Maybe it could be from 8am to 5pm, or to 6pm - I have asked for a new look at that.".
The main corridor contract is due to begin in mid-January for completion in October 2009, and includes widening Symonds St and Park Rd, and installing bus lanes, upgrading footpaths with new paving and canopies, and providing raised pedestrian crossings.
It also includes a provisional $3.7 million for drainage separation works in Grafton for the council's subsidiary, Metrowater.
The overall contract price was $3 million less than a council engineering estimate for the project, but the council has provided for a contingency sum of an extra $7.5 million in case many of the large number of underground service lines in the corridor have to be moved.
But the bulk of the cost will be covered by a Government subsidy of almost $20.5 million and a regional grant of $13.66 million.
Grafton Bridge, which was built in 1910 for horses and early cars, is likely to be shut to all traffic for about 15 months from the middle of next year while being strengthened.
Meanwhile, Auckland and Manukau cities were yesterday awarded a subsidy from Land Transport NZ of $23.4 million for work needed to apply for a notice of requirement for land, and to assess environmental effects of a 20-year package of transport links around the Tamaki River, expected to cost $1.33 billion.
