Source: Radio New Zealand
Artist’s visualisation of a second Mt Victoria Tunnel in Wellington. NZTA / Waka Kotahi
The Transport Minister says holding off on a second Mount Victoria tunnel is something under consideration, if congestion charging shows it is not needed.
But the Finance Minister insists the project is “all go,” with work already underway.
A second tunnel through Mount Victoria was a key 2023 campaign promise from National, and the project made its way into the Roads of National Significance programme.
A second Terrace Tunnel has also been proposed, reserved solely for southbound traffic, while the existing three-lane tunnel would become a dedicated route for northbound traffic only.
The New Zealand Transport Agency estimated the costs of the new tunnels, along with removing parking on Vivian Street, would cost between $2.9 billion and $3.8 billion.
Transport Minister Chris Bishop says a question on whether the Mount Victoria tunnels would be tolled was “complicated” by potential time-of-use pricing. RNZ/Mark Papalii
The National Infrastructure Plan, released on Tuesday, said time of use charging for congested urban networks would encourage people to travel during less congested times or take public transport.
This, the plan said, would reduce delays and improve network performance, but also “defer the need for expensive capacity expansions”.
The government has legislated to implement time-of-use charging, establishing a framework to allow councils to set up a congestion charging scheme.
The plan said New Zealand ranked fourth to last in the OECD for asset management, or the practice of looking after existing infrastructure.
The commission said better understanding of existing assets would help avoiding diverting maintenance spending into new capital investment, to the cost of future generations.
“Reform is needed to better align transport investment with what users can fund, supported by clearer and
more independent oversight to ensure spending is focused on maintaining existing networks and delivering new projects only where they respond to demand and provide clear value for money.”
Transport Minister Chris Bishop said a question on whether the Mount Victoria tunnels would be tolled was “complicated” by potential time-of-use pricing.
“Which is why I’m not getting ahead of any of that. There’s a variety of quite complicated issues around tolling and time-of-use pricing in both Auckland and Wellington, which we’re working our way through, and any decision on that is a long time away.”
Finance Minister Nicola Willis says the tunnel has not been cancelled. RNZ / Mark Papalii
Asked whether time of use charging should be used first before committing funds to two tunnels, Bishop said it was an option under consideration and he would have more to say soon.
“I’m not cancelling the tunnel, but we are giving active consideration to what time-of-use pricing might do to our transport projects. You have to factor these things in, because thay are a mechanism for demand management and making more efficient use of our infrastructure, which is exactly what the commission says.”
Finance Minister Nicola Willis said the tunnel had not been cancelled.
“Mount Vic Tunnel is all go. And in fact, work is already underway on that project, which is to say there’s around I think $150 million of geotechnical work underway already, which has involved drills and spades in the ground.”
Willis was more ambiguous when asked whether the second Terrace Tunnel “all go” as well, referring questions back to Bishop.
She said the point the Infrastructure Commission was making was that when deciding how to prioritise, sequence, fund, and finance projects, one of the things to consider was the role of different financing tools like petrol taxes, tolls, and congestion charging.
Wellington mayor Andrew Little said the Mount Victoria tunnel was always the government’s project, so it decides what happens.
“From Wellington’s point of view, what matters most is we have good infrastructure that means people can move around and across the city,” he said.
“What we need most of all is certainty about what the government is doing so that the council and residents can plan with confidence.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
