Yesterday, Patrick and I presented Nicolas Reid’s bridge proposal for the next Waitematā Harbour crossing to Auckland Council’s Transport and Infrastructure Delivery Committee.

We got a good hearing from councillors, and some great questions – you can check out the full presentation, about ten minutes followed by about twenty minutes of Q&A here,

You can see our presentation slides here. We also covered the discussion in real time on BlueSky; check out this thread if you want the TL;DR on the Q&As.

We’re looking forward to continuing to engage with Auckland Council and the public on this proposal, especially as the city heads into discussions about the 30-year Integrated Transport Plan.

Jonathan Killick also covered our presentation in an excellent article for The Post, under the headline Second Auckland harbour crossing must be bridge not tunnel, councillors told.

Here’s a snippet:

Greater Auckland’s Patrick Reynolds and Connor Sharp pitched an idea for a 12-lane bridge system at the council’s Transport and Infrastructure Delivery Committee on Tuesday, outlining several advantages it would have over a tunnel.

It would include four motorway lanes, and two “local traffic” and bus lanes each way, for a total of 12 vehicle lanes as well as lanes for bikes and pedestrians.

The proposal would include a new six lane bridge that would run from a breakwater at Westhaven Marina and connect with Northcote Point next to the existing Harbour Bridge.

Sharp said the project would cost $4 billion to $6b whereas a tunnel might cost $15b or $20b.

Reynolds, a former director of NZTA, told The Post he was expecting the transport agency would be imminently recommending a six-lane tunnel with no public transport or cycle lanes.

What other questions or feedback do you have on the proposal and our presentation of it? Let us know in the comments.

If you’re keen to support Greater Auckland’s work pushing for a brilliant, beautiful bridge as the heart of a top notch 30-year transport plan for our city, you can donate here. And as always, please feel free to share our work widely. This conversation belongs to ALL Aucklanders, and we all deserve to be part of it!

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