Yesterday, Patrick and I presented Nicolas Reid\u2019s bridge proposal for the next Waitemat\u0101 Harbour crossing to Auckland Council\u2019s Transport and Infrastructure Delivery Committee.<\/p>\n
We got a good hearing from councillors, and some great questions \u2013 you can check out the full presentation, about ten minutes followed by about twenty minutes of Q&A here, <\/a><\/p>\n You can see our presentation slides here. <\/a>We also covered the discussion in real time on BlueSky; check out this thread<\/a> if you want the TL;DR on the Q&As.<\/p>\n We\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/a><\/p>\n Here\u2019s a snippet:<\/p>\n Greater Auckland\u2019s Patrick Reynolds and Connor Sharp pitched an idea for a 12-lane bridge system at the council\u2019s Transport and Infrastructure Delivery Committee on Tuesday, outlining several advantages it would have over a tunnel.<\/p>\n It would include four motorway lanes, and two \u201clocal traffic\u201d and bus lanes each way, for a total of 12 vehicle lanes as well as lanes for bikes and pedestrians.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Sharp said the project would cost $4 billion to $6b whereas a tunnel might cost $15b or $20b.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n