First piece of soil turned in tunnel project 

Source: ONE NewsVictoria Park

Construction of a major road tunnel in central Auckland began on Monday with the ceremonial turning of the first soil.

Transport Minister Steven Joyce shifted the first soil for the 2.4km Victoria Park Tunnel project, near the harbour bridge.

The New Zealand Transport Agency says completion of the project will result in road travel in the city being faster, easier and less expensive by removing a major choking point in one of busiest stretches of the motorway network.

The centrepiece is a 440m tunnel beneath Victoria Park to carry three lanes of northbound traffic on what will be part of State Highway 1.

The existing viaduct will be converted to provide four southbound lanes and the capacity through St Marys Bay will be increased to five lanes each way.

The tunnel is one of seven "roads of national significance" chosen by the Government for priority development.

Joyce says the project will eliminate a bottleneck on SH1.

About 160,000 plus vehicles use the route daily.

At its peak, the three-year project was expected to employ 450 people - 350 directly onsite and a further 100 downstream.

The Labour Party says Joyce is obsessed with motorways.

"The real story is what is happening to regional rail and roads as a result," says transport spokesman Darren Hughes.

"Councils up and down the country are facing the reality that their road maintenance budgets will soon dry up because of the
Government's decision to slash their funding."