Waterview Tunnel

Waterview Tunnel

Alice the Tunnel Boring Machine during the construction of the Waterview Tunnel
Overview
Official name	Waterview Tunnel
Location	Auckland, New Zealand
Status	Opened 2 July 2017
Route	SH 20 and SH 16
Start	Point Chevalier
End	Mount Roskill
Operation
Constructed	2011–2017
Operator	NZ Transport Agency
Traffic	Motor vehicles
Character	Motorway
Toll	Not tolled
Technical
Length	7,874 feet (2,400.0 m)
No. of lanes	6 (3 per tunnel)
Operating speed	80 km/h (50 mph)

The Waterview Tunnel is a twin road tunnel in west Auckland, New Zealand. At 2,400 metres (7,900 ft) long, it is New Zealand's longest road tunnel. The tunnel, with three lanes of road vehicle traffic in each direction, connects State Highway 20 in the south at Mount Roskill to State Highway 16 in the west at Point Chevalier as part of the Waterview Connection. Its opening completed the Western Ring Route motorway system.

The project had an extensive planning history, with the earliest consultation in 2000, though the proposal for a route roughly in the area dates from much earlier.^{[citation needed]}

The Waterview Tunnel completed the Western Ring Route which provides a second route through Auckland. For those travelling from North to South (or vice versa) the route enables users to bypass the city centre and reduces reliance on SH1 and the Auckland Harbour Bridge. It also provides a direct motorway link from the central city through to Auckland Airport, a route which has in the past relied on the use of local roads.

The Waterview Tunnel and greater Waterview Connection project was delivered by the Well-Connected Alliance. This was a partnership between the NZ Transport Agency, Fletcher Construction, McConnell Dowell, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Beca Infrastructure, Tonkin+Taylor, and Obayashi Corporation. Wilson Tunnelling and SICEEnabling were sub-alliance partners.