Waterview project bridges studied

Auckland City is investigating whether pedestrian and cycling bridges should be built over the Northwestern Motorway within the Transport Agency's $1.4 billion budget for the Waterview Connection project.

The city council is finalising an extensive list of community mitigation and enhancement work it will seek from a fast-tracked consenting process due to start late next month, when the agency intends lodging an application to the new Environmental Protection Authority for the 4.5km Waterview motorway link, which will include 2.4km of tunnels.

Its transport committee has passed more than seven pages of resolutions for staff to prepare a draft submission to the agency, under the direction of a working party of councillors, and has promised "targeted community consultation" before a final document is approved.

That will be presented to a board of inquiry if Environment Minister Nick Smith agrees to a Transport Agency request for its application to be dealt with at a single hearing from which decisions may be challenged only on points of law.

Widening the Northwestern Motorway between St Lukes and Te Atatu is also part of the project.

The agency is already proposing four walking and cycling bridges, two in a green belt through Owairaka where it intends building an open section of motorway between New Windsor and twin tunnels from southeast of New North Road to Waterview.

Other proposed bridge sites are across the western railway line near the Pak'n'Save supermarket on New North Rd, and over Oakley Creek between Blockhouse Bay Rd and the Phyllis St reserve.

The council committee also wants the agency to build a bridge across the creek to Unitec from near the intersection of Great North Rd and Alford St, and is investigating the feasibility of two walking and cycling links across the Northwestern Motorway to Pt Chevalier, from Waterview and Mt Albert.

A Waterview-Pt Chevalier link would cost the most - possibly more than $10 million - as it would have to bridge the mouth of Oakley Creek as well as a new interchange between the Southwestern and Northwestern motorways.

But the Eden Albert Community Board supports a concept design by Auckland University postgraduate architecture students for a 250m bridge to provide Waterview residents with connections to the beach at Eric Armishaw Park and other Pt Chevalier destinations.

Although a cost estimate has not been produced, senior university architecture lecturer and long-time Waterview resident Bill McKay says it will be "a drop in the bucket" of the overall project budget.

The transport committee has asked council staff to take the design workshop's concept into account in investigating the potential for walking and cycling links although the chairman, Ken Baguley, said the Transport Agency's response "could be quite interesting".

His committee is also courting controversy by calling for an investigation into the viability of making the proposed bridge to Unitec large enough to carry buses as well as pedestrians and cyclists, while "understanding the concerns a road bridge raises in the community".

Transport Agency principal project director Clive Fuhr described the council's tentative list of mitigation work and enhancements as "very extensive".

"We're very keen to meet with Auckland City to work through the prioritisation of their requirements," he said.

"We want to be as open as we can with the council about the amenity value of the land we are taking and have been working with them to generate ideas about how we can replace the lost amenity in Waterview and Owairaka.