this post was submitted on 14 Apr 2024
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This would be amazing for anyone heading out to the bays or Wellington Airport, no intersections or lights to worry about, and it would make life so much easier for the CBD as well, not having so much through traffic in the CBD.

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Title makes it sound like they just found an unknown tunnel and are investigating what it's doing there.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago

It was undermining constitutional foundation

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

That's what I thought at first. I watched too much Wellington Paranormal.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Maybe it'd be good, but this just feels like the Boris Johnson method of:

  • announce some fantastical massive project that'll never get built but will pull some headlines for a bit
  • funnel some public money to cronies for contracting services to do a business case
  • quietly shelve it until it's time to pull out something else for the same effect.

If they want to reduce traffic congestion, expand public transport and make it more reliable and cheaper.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

This is being explored as an alternative to a second Terrace and Mt Vic tunnels, and sounds like just an idea for now.

We desperately need to improve access to that area though, getting out to Miramar, Seatoun and Titahi Bay is a nightmare at times, including on weekends.

And public transport can only do so much, it's not an option for everyone.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (11 children)

It's not an option because we neglect it to the point it's not usable for a lot of trips.

That doesn't mean improvements aren't possible, and they would help free up capacity on the existing road network. Roads are such a poor investment at this point, especially ones like these

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Can I use it for when I take my kayak out there? 5.5m long boat shouldn't take up too much space in the bus, right?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Sorry, not sure how investing in more PT options would require you to take a kayak on the bus.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

That's not what I asked you.

I'm pointing out why I won't be taking the bus if I'm heading out that way.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (13 children)

So then don't, I didn't say it must replace every single trip for it to have value

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

A tunnel that long would tale a similar amount of time and money as an underground metro... And have significantly less utility and economic benefits...

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Also it will make traffic worse, not better, as it will result in more people driving...

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (3 children)

Definitely should dig a second one for rail as well.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago

Do a first one for rail and then if it really seems necessary maybe we can discuss one for cars

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Rail should go first. Or pedestrians.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Sure, but hopefully the car tunnel entrance won't cost too much to tear down when people realise it's a waste of land later

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Tearing down the Wellington Urban Motorway would probably be better value for money.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Wellington isn't shrinking though.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Not yet... 😅

[–] InvisibleShoe 4 points 7 months ago

Lol From the sound of the headline, I thought someone had dug an unauthorized 4km tunnel and it had just been discovered. Was thinking WTF

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (2 children)

It's an amazing idea, but the seismic implications are enough to discourage it, I'd have thought.

How the heck does one build it with a straight face when we have so many quakes and have been expecting something major for decades?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I mean, we've got no shortage of tunnels in Wellington, many of which have been around for over a hundred years, and withstood many earthquakes already. Building a quake resilient tunnel can definitely be done.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

So there's 3 tunnels that we run vehicles through, day to day (that im aware of). Terrace tunnel, mt Vic and the bus tunnel. The city would struggle with either of them collapsing, and I understand the ones under mt Vic are already in dire straits, going by some of the points hopeful mayors that they were campaigning on. I'm no expert but your claim feels like a huge stretch.

As for earthquakes, there's one that was readily found via a search in 1855 and that "considerably reshaped the geography", so, respectfully, I completely disagree. https://www.wcl.govt.nz/heritage/earthquakes.html

edit sorry, I should have clarified earlier, it's the major quakes I'm concerned about. Not the frequent little ones

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

You're forgetting Karori, and that's just vehicle tunnels. There's also the many train tunnels around Wellington.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I realised there's the cable car too, although that's a funny great area.

Certainly the prospect of building a tunnel under the guts of the city for several km (where it's likely to cross a fault line) is edging towards this kind of nightmare: https://blogs.agu.org/landslideblog/files/2011/03/10_10-Canterbury-22.jpg

I can't see how a tunnel would sustain that, which seems like a death knell for the whole idea...

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

It's certainly been done, it's not an insurmountable obstacle.

[–] Seleni 1 points 7 months ago

Earthquakes tend to go around voids, interestingly enough.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

Let's pretend this government is going to stay in power for thirty years.

I predict this project wouldn't be completed in their tenure if they approved it tomorrow. Look at how long it took them to bypass Cambridge on SH1 FFS.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Listening to The Kaka this morning, Bernard Hickey has a nice take, one primary reason is that this will save politicians approx 15min between the airport and parliament...the cynicism made me LOL

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

It would save me fifteen minutes every day too, to be fair.

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