Waterview Tunnel

The Waterview Tunnel is a twin road tunnel in central Auckland, New Zealand. At 2,400 metres (7,900 ft) long, it is New Zealand's longest road tunnel.[1] 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.

Waterview Tunnel
Alice the Tunnel Boring Machine during the construction of the Waterview Tunnel
Alice the Tunnel Boring Machine during the construction of the Waterview Tunnel
Overview
Official nameWaterview Tunnel
LocationAuckland, New Zealand
StatusOpened 2 July 2017
Route SH 20 and SH 16
StartPoint Chevalier
EndMount Roskill
Operation
Constructed2011–2017
OperatorNZ Transport Agency
TrafficMotor vehicles
CharacterMotorway
TollNot tolled
Technical
Length7,874 feet (2,400.0 m)
No. of lanes6 (3 per tunnel)
Operating speed80 km/h (50 mph)
Route map

Planning history
Main article: Waterview_Connection § Planning_history

The project had an extensive planning history, with the earliest consultation in 2000,[2] though the proposal for a route roughly in the area dates from much earlier.

Purpose

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.[3]

Project alliance

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 SICE were sub-alliance partners.

Construction

Concrete lining

A purpose-built factory was constructed in East Tāmaki to produce the 2414 concrete rings needed to line the tunnels. Each ring is two metres wide (length) and 14 metres in diameter. They consist of 10 precast segments, each of which weighs 10.5 tonnes.[4] Five rejected segments were used to create a Soldiers Memorial on the Village Green at Te Kauwhata.[5]

Tunnel boring machine
Alice the Tunnel Boring Machine constructing Waterview Tunnel
Alice the TBM near the start of her journey in October 2013. Te Hauranga Hau, an artwork designed for the project, can be seen on the left.

An Earth Pressure Balance tunnel boring machine (TBM) was built specifically for the Waterview Tunnel at the Herrenknecht factory, Guangzhou, China. Made up of 90 pieces, the TBM was 14 metres in diameter, 97 metres long, and had a top speed of 80mm per minute.[6] The TBM arrived in Auckland on 22 July 2013,[7] a launch ceremony was held on 31 October 2013, and excavation work began on 8 November 2013.[8]

Nicknamed "Alice" following a public vote,[9] the TBM was the 11th largest machine of this type in the world.[10] Alice bored the twin tunnels in two passes to a depth of up to 45 metres so as to pass below hard rock, the water table, and sea level. The southbound tunnel, excavated from south to north, was holed through on 29 September 2014.[11] Alice completed the return journey on 19 October 2015[12] and was dismantled in early 2016 before being transported in sections to the Port of Auckland for shipment back to the German manufacturer.[13]

Cross-passage excavation

Work on the excavation of cross-passages between the two tunnels began in early 2015. Sixteen cross-passages were built to enable evacuation of people from one tunnel to the other in the event of an emergency and to house tunnel operation equipment. Each cross-passage is around 11 metres long. The excavation was completed in December 2015.[14]

Safety features

The tunnels include a number of features to ensure safe use by vehicles. Safety features include electronic message boards, speed cameras, public address systems, radio sound systems, CCTV cameras, and ventilation and fire sprinkler systems. Traffic is monitored by dedicated Tunnel Operators and computerised systems. Emergency exits and telephones are installed every 150 metres along the length of each tunnel. Overheight detection systems prevent oversize vehicles entering, and on-ramp signals regulate traffic flow.[15]

Closures and detour route

The tunnels will be partially or fully closed for scheduled maintenance at times, usually between the hours of 10pm and 5am. A detour route through Great North Road, Blockhouse Bay Road, Tiverton Road, New Windsor Road, and Maioro Street[16] will be utilised at these times. The detour will also be permanently in place for prohibited vehicles.[17]

Prohibited vehicles

Dangerous Goods Vehicles (i.e. those requiring a placard), vehicles over 4.3m high, and vehicles carrying uncovered loads are prohibited from using the tunnels. They are required to take the detour route.[18]

Completion date

In 2016, the completion date for Waterview Tunnel was estimated as mid-April 2017.[19] A delay was announced in March 2017, with the date pushed out by "two-three months"[20] after faults were found in the deluge system and software.[21] On 11 June 2017, it was announced that the tunnel would open in early July 2017.[22] The tunnels opened on 2 July 2017 with the first cars passing through at 12:47 am escorted by three police vehicles.[23]

Te Haerenga Hou (artwork)

Auckland artist Graham Tipene created an artwork named Te Haerenga Hou (meaning New Journey) for the entranceway to the tunnel.[24]

The artwork depicts the journey from the Manukau Harbour, past the volcanoes of Te Ara Pūeru /Māngere, Te Hōpua (Gloucester Park), Maungakiekie (One Tree Hill) and Puketāpapa (Mt Roskill), to the feet of Ōwairaka (Mt Albert), following the path of the tunnels.[25] The work also incorporates the story of lovers Tamaireia and Hinemairangi, whose elopement is said to have led to the creation of the region's volcanoes.[26]

See also

References
  1. "Waterview Tunnel | NZ Transport Agency". www.nzta.govt.nz. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  2. "NZTA Poster" (PDF).
  3. "Waterview Tunnel | NZ Transport Agency". www.nzta.govt.nz. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  4. "Waterview concrete linings complete". Stuff. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  5. "Waterview helps community's ANZAC spirit | NZ Transport Agency". www.nzta.govt.nz. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  6. "Huge machine on its way to build key Auckland road connection | NZ Transport Agency". www.nzta.govt.nz. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  7. "Big Alice arrives to start new journey for Auckland". NZ Transport Agency. 22 July 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  8. "Obayashi Global | News | World class Large Tunnel Boring Machines Started Operation". www.obayashi.co.jp. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  9. "Meet Alice, Auckland's own giant tunneling machine | NZ Transport Agency". www.nzta.govt.nz. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  10. "Getting underway before going underground". Press Release. NZ Transport Agency. 29 November 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  11. "Alice the tunnel-boring machine breaks through" (Press release). Stuff.co.nz. 29 September 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  12. "Auckland's Alice tunnel machine breaks through". stuff.co.nz. 19 October 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  13. "Auckland's tunnel boring machine Alice heads home". stuff.co.nz. 3 February 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  14. "Waterview Connection's year ends with another milestone | NZ Transport Agency". www.nzta.govt.nz. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  15. "Safety features | NZ Transport Agency". www.nzta.govt.nz. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  16. "Waterview tunnel detour route".
  17. "Prohibited vehicles | NZ Transport Agency". www.nzta.govt.nz. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  18. "Prohibited vehicles | NZ Transport Agency". www.nzta.govt.nz. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  19. "Preparing for Waterview's opening – Contractor Magazine". Contractor Magazine. 15 December 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  20. "More time required to complete testing and commissioning at Waterview Connection | NZ Transport Agency". www.nzta.govt.nz. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  21. "Opening of Waterview Tunnel" (PDF).
  22. "Auckland's $1.4 billion Waterview tunnel to open in early July". Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  23. "Auckland's Waterview Tunnel open to traffic at last". Stuff.co.nz. 2 July 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  24. "Art depicting pūrākau Māori to adorn Auckland tunnel". Maori Television. 9 November 2016.
  25. "Big Alice arrives to start new journey for Auckland | NZ Transport Agency". www.nzta.govt.nz. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  26. Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "1. – Tāmaki tribes – Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand". www.teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 30 May 2017.

36°53′51.74″S 174°42′35.57″E

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