Hard News: The Waterview Bore
88 Responses
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The Auckland Coast to Coast Walk is an easy day out and much easier than the other one.
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i live at the top of waterview just off great north road and drive through the construction zone to work every morning. from my point of view while enormous, the construction itself hasn't actually been massively disruptive so far. from what i can tell of the plans, i'm expecting the impact of the work once completed to be positive. and the construction team has obviously put a lot of effort into reducing the impact on residents as much as possible, and the reparation work in extending the parks etc. has been pretty good too.
i'm actually quite interested in the associated work to widen the north-western past great north road and raise the motorway across the marine causeway. i'm hoping that will actually ease congestion leaving the city in the evenings, and reduce the threat of motorway flooding when water levels increase during severe weather events.
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a rational (?) project that will increase network capacity
Enabling people to buy houses the other side of Albany and drive to wherever they are working, causing traffic levels to increase again until we're back to stopped. (or gas prices go through $5 a litre and they can't afford to drive to work any more).
The UK's M25 has grown from six lanes when it opened in 1986 to have up to twelve today, with plans for even more. It still jams solid.
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Shaun Lott, in reply to
I look at the causeway raising, then to the temperatures in Australia and the lack of ice in the Arctic, and I wonder: Are they planning to raise it far enough?
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Transportblog has a number of detailed posts about the Waterview Connection project, as you'd expect.
Spending all that money widening the NW motorway without adding dedicated buslanes boggles me. Such a wasted opportunity.
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Richard Stewart, in reply to
"i'm expecting the impact of the work once completed to be positive."
For motorists in the short term, but not for the beautiful Oakley Creek Walkway and waterfall.
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The Causeway is planned to be completed before the Waterview Tunnel and the next section, the Te Atatu Interchange is expected to be complete soon after.
The Causeway will be raised by 3m (it has sunk by 2m) and will be widened, including better pedestrian and cyclist facilities.
The whole Western Ring Route will be a great peice of transport infrastructure - but unfortunatley more cars will fill it up and we'll be in the same congestion that wea re in now. Roads arent the solution.
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Russell Brown, in reply to
Enabling people to buy houses the other side of Albany and drive to wherever they are working, causing traffic levels to increase again until we’re back to stopped.
No so much, really. They're already doing that. But it should ease the impact of showstopping congestion or crashes on SH1, by providing an alternative route. And hopefully, it'll mean much of the traffic that chokes Carrington Road near us going direct to the motorway. Motorways that don't quite connect can be pretty irksome for the people in the middle.
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Sacha, in reply to
widening the NW motorway without adding dedicated buslanes
Found a Transportblog post on that. Think there are earlier ones too.
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Dastardly Bounder, in reply to
I thought the Waterview Tunnel included a restoration and beautification of the Oakley Creek walkway?
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Sacha, in reply to
an alternative route
And for trucks bypassing the Northern/Southern motorway from Manukau or Albany, which is good (though at about $4b for the whole route, not cheap). This project at least makes more sense than the provincial RONS projects.
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The Causeway upgrade is infuriating because NZTA of obstinately refused to include a bus way, or even sufficient shoulder space to construct one in the future. There’s no work being done to allow buses to bypass the Patiki/Rosebank Rd on/off-ramps, either. Public transport is being completely ignored during the entire project.
ETA: Sacha, snap.
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Hmm, just done the flyover and note that you can't get on or off SH20 from Pt Chev intersection. B@gga! Will need to go to Western Springs then back to interchange. So much for 15 minutes to the airport....
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Ian Dalziel, in reply to
impending Water views…
…the lack of ice in the Arctic, and I wonder: Are they planning to raise it far enough?
We have just sent a renowned source of hot air (and a possible Typhoid Mary) down to Antarctica for 4 days!
Keys to chill out in Antarctica
Can’t quite see why the wife and Diplomatic Protection Squad boys are going – it’s not a cheap thing keeping someone at Scott Base for 4 days….
updated with:
Key collapses at restaurant
it’s just a sniffle, I’ll be fine, (I know I was just in the States – Hawaii & Florida – but that new flu is nothing to worry about, why should I stay home from work, especially during ‘Bring the Wife to Work Week’) send me on down to that delicate closed ecosystem, she’ll be right!
Here’s hoping Contagion, The Thing, or Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness isn’t the in-flight movie. -
Russell Brown, in reply to
For motorists in the short term, but not for the beautiful Oakley Creek Walkway and waterfall.
Are you sure? As far as I can tell, the tunnel will go under the creek and waterfall. The creek will be subject to temporary diversion at the southern end, but the part where the walkway is remains. And will, presumably, be cleaned up a bit.
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Russell Brown, in reply to
Hmm, just done the flyover and note that you can’t get on or off SH20 from Pt Chev intersection. B@gga! Will need to go to Western Springs then back to interchange. So much for 15 minutes to the airport….
Yes -- I was just reading about that -- no connection from Great North Road. That's just weird.
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Sacha, in reply to
And for anyone who thinks we're being too hard on NZTA, here's some pictorial evidence about their similar efforts on another section of Auckland motorway.
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Matthew Poole, in reply to
Can’t quite see why the wife and Diplomatic Protection Squad boys are going
Helen used to go and do things like climbing Mt Kilimanjaro without a DPS escort, and that's practically wandering around in Times Square compared to the inaccessibility of Scott Base. Maybe send a couple down in order to satisfy whatever requirements there are for officers to attend the PM while on official engagements, but more than that is just ludicrous.
As for Bronagh, it is an official visit. -
thomas, in reply to
thats my understanding too. there's also discussion in the district 30-year plan about a further walkway extension along the coastline up the west side of waterview (although no timeframes).
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Sacha, in reply to
Maybe send a couple down
to thwart any aggressive penguins
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Russell Brown, in reply to
This project at least makes more sense than the provincial RONS projects.
Yes, that's how it seemed to me.
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Cycle Action Auckland have the low-down on the causeway works - http://caa.org.nz/general-news/northwestern-cycleway-the-causeway-works/#more-9537
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Actually, if you Aucklanders feel it'll make life better turning the city into (more of) a mini-LA, go right ahead.
If you could use up all the highway funds so they can't build the Basin Reserve flyover/tunnel scheme in Wellington, that'd be great. According to the National Party / Dom Post it's essential because of the terrible congestion at the Basin roundabout. I travel that way several times a week, and have never waited longer than a traffic light cycle. But on Planet Fairfax/Key, it's tailed back to the moon.
(They've already started on a cut-and-cover tunnel on Buckle Street so the ghosts of dead soldiers can cross the road more easily, or something).
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Matthew Poole, in reply to
It's not like Key is universally beloved amongst the scientific community. Eh, Bart ;)
I'm prepared to accept that there's a rigid policy that the PM must be accompanied when on official engagements (whether I think that's necessary is a different story), but as there's no possibility of the full three-car convoy with attendant officer requirements it should be sufficient to send down the barest minimum number of officers.
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Matthew Poole, in reply to
Actually, if you Aucklanders feel it’ll make life better turning the city into (more of) a mini-LA, go right ahead.
You're assuming, very arrogantly, that Aucklanders do want to continue the automobile-obsessed ways of the past on the basis that the current regime aren't interested in supporting public transport. When the motorway network was originally sketched out in the 1950s it was accompanied by huge expansion of the tram network. The National Government of the time didn't read past the bit where motorways went hither and yon. The Waterview Tunnel is, at least, following roughly along a line from the 1950s plan; as opposed to some of the other motorways built of late, like the Albany extension.
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