Tunnel plan for tourist meccas

Milford Sound is drawing increasing numbers of tourists. Picture / Tourism Holdings

Plans for one of New Zealand's boldest engineering feats have been unveiled to link two of the country's premier tourist drawcards.

The "Dart Passage" would cut travel time between Queenstown and Milford Sound from a 10-hour round trip to just four hours.

The $150 million tunnel would stretch 10km from near Glenorchy to the Milford Road. The proposal by Milford Dart Ltd would see the link built largely beneath Mt Aspiring and Fiordland National Parks.

If approved, the tunnel could be finished in time for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Company director Tom Elworthy described the project as the cleanest, simplest and most economical way to provide access to Milford Sound and handle growing visitor numbers.

"It will make a significant difference to the travel time and, being underground, will have minimal impact," he told the Herald.

The present bus journey means a start time of about 7am and return at 8pm. It also means the 500,000 visitors each year arrive and leave in one large daily crowd, causing problems for tourist operators at Milford Sound and environmental worries.

The Milford Dart tunnel plan would see up to 40 diesel/electric hybrid coaches making the journey in two hours several times a day.

It is the third proposal announced to solve Milford Sound's access problems. Skyline Enterprises wants to build a gondola and a Fiordland Link monorail is also mooted.

The 12.6km, $100 million gondola would end at Caples Valley, leaving a short coach ride at the end, but cutting travel time by only about an hour one way.

It is thought the monorail, costing up to $150 million, could cut as much as six hours off the round trip, though it would emphasise Te Anau as its destination, not Milford Sound.

The previous plans have caused controversy, with claims they could spoil the environment. Concerns over the effect of large numbers of visitors would be better handled by a visitor cap, says the Department of Conservation.

Mr Elworthy said the Dart Passage would spread the visitor load and have no visual impact.

"Trampers on tracks, recreational users or visitors on scenic flights will see virtually no change to the landscape."

The company expects the plan to take about two years to pass through consent processes. Construction is expected to take three or four years.

Three competing ideas to link Queenstown and Milford Sound:

* $150 million, 10.2km tunnel from Glenorchy to Milford Road.

* $100 million gondola stretching 12.6km from Milford Road in Fiordland to the Caples Valley.

* $150 million monorail winding 41km from Queenstown to Te Anau.