KEY POINTS:
The first step towards replacing the Auckland Harbour Bridge as the Waitemata Harbour's main crossing has taken place, with the Government announcing the project could be included in its infrastructure plan.
The New Zealand Transport Agency has applied for funding to pay for the first step in the project - marking out the territory the tunnel crossing will use and making sure no one builds over it.
It follows the revelation that the bridge's outer lanes - affectionately known as the Nippon Clip-ons - needed major structural work to maintain their lifespan. Late last year the agency rejected a plan to allow cyclists and pedestrians on the bridge because it could shorten the 30-year life to just 10 years.
Agency transport planning general manager Wayne McDonald said the organisation had applied for a formal "notice of requirement", which effectively reserved its right to use that land.
The proposed new route goes under the Tank Farm area on the harbour front, to the east of the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
The notice would mean future developments there would not be able to drive piles into the harbour bedrock, through the existing landfill. The agency had also applied for several million dollars of funding to move the planning through its first few stages.
A spokeswoman for Steven Joyce, Minister of Transport, said he had received a briefing on the bridge earlier this month, which included the project to strengthen the bridge, as well as planning work around the harbour crossing.
The spokeswoman said the project was to be considered for inclusion in the Government's 20-year infrastructure plan.
"Decisions about a second harbour crossing will be included in the Government's infrastructure plan, which will be outlined towards the end of the year."
There has been discussion around bringing forward some of the projects under consideration to help lift New Zealand through the recession.
