By Dylan Moran and Dan Satherley
Transport Minister Steven Joyce and the New Zealand Transport Agency have this morning announced who will build the Waterview connection in Auckland.
The Well-Connected consortium, which includes Fletcher Construction, McConnell Dowell Constructors, PB New Zealand, Beca Infrastructures, Tonkin and Taylor and Japanese construction company Obayashi Corportation will carry out the contract for the country’s biggest roading project.
Mr Joyce says the announcement is a significant step in “what is one of the most complex and exciting projects to be undertaken in this country”, and is expected to be finished by 2016.
“It’s crucial to unlock the benefits of a whole wider roading network,” says Mr Joyce.
It will cost a projected $1.4 billion.
NZTA chief executive Geoff Dangerfield says the organisation had an ambitious target in trying to have consents and procurements both finalised in a year, but this was achieved by running both phases in tandem.
“Running the two processes in parallel has helped us save up to a year in construction time and ensure we get the best market prices," he says.
In total, there will almost 5km of new motorways built, including tunnels and interchanges linking up the Southern and Western motorways.
“The Waterview Connection is the key transport link needed to complete the Western Ring Route," says Mr Dangerfield.
"This will have a major change on the way traffic moves around Auckland, keeping the city moving and the economy growing.
"This important travel solution will reduce congestion and provide a strategic alternative to SH1 – the country’s busiest motorway."
Auckland’s deputy mayor Penny Hulse says the Western ring route, along with several other ongoing roading projects in the city, will lead to a 4 to 6 percent reduction in traffic on local streets.
She acknowledged the project has been controversial at times, with concerns over the project’s impact on houses and the local community.
“There are still concerns and they are being worked through as we speak,” she says, but believes consultation with the public has cleared up any ill-feeling.
Ms Hulse also hinted at the potential for another big project in the city in the near future, as New Zealand will receive a large purpose-built tunnelling machine at the end of construction of the Waterview connection.
“I think we can find a use for that,” she says.
Mr Joyce is calling this a win for the Government, because he says changes made by the National Government to the Resource Management Act for projects of "national significance" have allowed the process to be sped up – just like trips across the city will be.
"The Western Ring Route will deliver significant time savings of 20 to 30 minutes between West Auckland and the airport at peak time," says Mr Joyce.
"It will also lead to more modest savings, averaging around five minutes, for trips between the CBD and airport, and from five to 15 minutes in the peak times between Silverdale in the North and Manukau in the south on SH1."
More than half the new motorway will be underground – two three-lane tunnels – a first for New Zealand.
“This project will require underground work at an unprecedented scale, in a country where road tunnels are relatively rare," says NZTA chief executive Geoff Dangerfield.
"It will need to be constructed through difficult terrain that consists of soft sedimentary rock and basalt lava flows."
The next step in the Western ring route process is to begin the process awarding the contract to widen SH16 the causeway.
The Well-Connected consortium also includes sub-alliance partners SICE, Wilson Tunnelling, Downer EDI Works, Boffa Miskell and Warren and Mahoney.
Mr Dangerfield thanked the Tuhono consortium for its involvement in the tender process, although its bid was unsuccessful. Tuhono included Leighton Contractors, Fulton Hogan, John Holland, Aecom and Sinclair Knight Merz.
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