Mount Victoria Tunnel
Encyclopedia
The Mount Victoria Tunnel in the New Zealand
capital city of Wellington
is 623 metres (slightly more than a third of a mile) long and 5 metres (16.4 ft) in height, connecting Hataitai
to the centre of Wellington and the suburb of Mount Victoria
, under the mount of the same name. It is part of State Highway 1
.
The initial breakthrough, when the two separate teams of diggers met, occurred at 2.30pm on 31 May 1930, and the first people to pass through the breakthrough were tunnellers Philip Gilbert and Alfred Graham. The tunnel was opened officially by the mayor of Wellington, Thomas Charles Hislop, on 12 October 1931.
Although the tunnel has been eclipsed in terms of features and amenities by more recent tunnels around the country, such as the Terrace Motorway Tunnel
, the Mount Victoria Tunnel was the first road tunnel in New Zealand to be mechanically ventilated.
There has been a long standing designation for a second parallel tunnel to the north, in order to relieve peak period congestion resulting from lane merges at both ends of the tunnel. A pilot tunnel was bored through in 1974 to investigate the technical feasibility and still exists, although the eastern end has been bricked up and the western end lies on private property. Plans to build the second tunnel paralleled the original plan to complete the Wellington Urban Motorway to the tunnel to provide a motorway bypass of the whole of central Wellington. The second tunnel component was shelved indefinitely in 1981 when budget cuts meant that a scaled-down motorway extension was proposed that would terminate at the existing tunnel.
Since that date there have been no serious proposals to duplicate the existing tunnel, although cost estimates for such work were at $40 million in the mid 1980s. Traffic lights have been installed at the end of the city approach to the tunnel to ease congestion and improve safety at the Basin Reserve
roundabout. Mount Victoria Tunnel became part of State Highway 1
in 1997 when Transit New Zealand
designated the road from Wellington Airport
to the Basin Reserve a State Highway. The NZTA
has no plans in the next ten years to duplicate the tunnel, but plans to investigate work to upgrade the city approaches around the Basin Reserve, including a possible flyover to Buckle Street, to reduce congestion at the city end of the tunnel and around the Basin Reserve. A study is currently underway (the Ngauranga to Airport Study) investigating long-term transport options for the route. The study indicates that a new tunnel would cost around (NZ)$170 million.
During World War II
, the government planned to use the tunnel as an air raid
shelter if Wellington were attacked. However, the plan was scrapped, as the tunnel was thought to be too vulnerable to assault from either side by hostile troops.
A well-known local story revolves around a murder that occurred during the construction of the Mount Victoria Tunnel. A young woman named Phylis Simons was murdered by her lover, who buried her alive in the fill from the tunnel. It is suspected that the girl was pregnant by her lover and the story was later covered in the Wellington newspapers. Upon learning of the murder, police ordered workers to excavate the tunnel's fill in order to find the victim's body.
The tunnel currently is a traffic bottleneck in the morning peak from around 7.30 to 9.00am on the Hataitai side with traffic sometimes backing up over 1 km and in the afternoon peak between 5 and 6pm on the city side with queuing back around 0.5 km. Buses to the eastern suburbs bypass this congestion by using the much older single-lane Hataitai bus tunnel.
- NZ$3.7m for design for Mount Victoria Tunnel Safety improvements, as committed funding;
- NZ$2.6m for investigation into improvements on roads around Basin Reserve approaching the tunnel, as committed funding;
- NZ$2.2m for design into improvements on road around Basin Reserve approaching the tunnel, classified as "probable" project to start 2011/12;
- NZ$1.1m for property purchase for potential improvements around Basin Reserve, classified as "probable" project to start 2010/11;
- NZ$40.5m for construction of Mount Victoria Tunnel Safety Improvements, classified as "probable" project to start 2011/12;
- NZ$5.5m for investigation into Mount Victoria Tunnel duplication, classified as "probable" project to start 2011/12.
- NZ$0.1m for investigation into Mount Victoria Tunnel walking/cycling improvements, classified as "Reserve" project, to start 2009/10;
- NZ$0.1m for design into Mount Victoria Tunnel walking/cycling improvements, classified as "Reserve" project, to start 2010/11;
- NZ$1.1m for construction of Mount Victoria Tunnel walking/cycling improvements, classified as "Reserve" project, to start 2011/12.
What this indicates is that the next three years will likely see significant safety improvements made to the tunnel, with some funding on continued investigation, design and property purchases planning for any further upgrades to the tunnel and approach roads beyond that timeframe.
The National Land Transport Programme also forecasts the cost of Basin Reserve improvements to be around NZ$41.2m, but classifies it as a "Reserve" project" with no date for commencement. It is unlikely construction work on this project, if approved, would commence before 2012.
The National Land Transport Programme forecasts costs for duplication of Mount Victoria Tunnel at NZ$6.6m for the design phase and $8.8m for property purchases, but no figure for construction of the tunnel. The design and property purchase phases are classified as "Reserve" and are unlikely to proceed until completion of the investigation phase. This means it is almost certain no construction work could commence on duplicating Mount Victoria Tunnel before 2012. Given the dependency of such a project on improvements at the Basin Reserve, it would be fair to assume that any tunnel duplication is dependent on significant capacity improvements to traffic flow around the Basin Reserve.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
capital city of Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
is 623 metres (slightly more than a third of a mile) long and 5 metres (16.4 ft) in height, connecting Hataitai
Hataitai
Hataitai is an inner-city suburb of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, 3.5 kilometres southeast of the city centre. The suburb extends over the southeastern flank of Mount Victoria and down a valley between the Town Belt and a ridge along the shoreline of Evans Bay...
to the centre of Wellington and the suburb of Mount Victoria
Mount Victoria, Wellington
Mount Victoria, locally abbreviated to Mt. Vic, is a prominent hill to the east of the centre of Wellington, New Zealand, and its associated suburb. To the south of it is a spur, Mount Albert, and the two are linked by a ridge....
, under the mount of the same name. It is part of State Highway 1
State Highway 1 (New Zealand)
State Highway 1 is the longest and most significant road in the New Zealand roading network, running the length of both main islands. It appears on road maps as SH 1 and on road signs as a white number 1 on a red shield, but it has the official designations SH 1N in the North Island, SH 1S in the...
.
History
The tunnel was built in 15 months by the Hansford and Mills Construction Company. The project cost around £132,000 and greatly reduced travel time between the Eastern Suburbs and the central business district of Wellington. Construction employed a standard tunnel-excavation technique in which two teams of diggers begin on either side of the obstacle to be tunnelled through, eventually meeting in the centre.The initial breakthrough, when the two separate teams of diggers met, occurred at 2.30pm on 31 May 1930, and the first people to pass through the breakthrough were tunnellers Philip Gilbert and Alfred Graham. The tunnel was opened officially by the mayor of Wellington, Thomas Charles Hislop, on 12 October 1931.
Although the tunnel has been eclipsed in terms of features and amenities by more recent tunnels around the country, such as the Terrace Motorway Tunnel
Terrace Motorway Tunnel
The Terrace Tunnel takes the Wellington Urban Motorway under The Terrace in central Wellington, New Zealand. Opened in 1978, it is 460 metres in length.-Coordinates:* North portal: * South portal: -Design:...
, the Mount Victoria Tunnel was the first road tunnel in New Zealand to be mechanically ventilated.
There has been a long standing designation for a second parallel tunnel to the north, in order to relieve peak period congestion resulting from lane merges at both ends of the tunnel. A pilot tunnel was bored through in 1974 to investigate the technical feasibility and still exists, although the eastern end has been bricked up and the western end lies on private property. Plans to build the second tunnel paralleled the original plan to complete the Wellington Urban Motorway to the tunnel to provide a motorway bypass of the whole of central Wellington. The second tunnel component was shelved indefinitely in 1981 when budget cuts meant that a scaled-down motorway extension was proposed that would terminate at the existing tunnel.
Since that date there have been no serious proposals to duplicate the existing tunnel, although cost estimates for such work were at $40 million in the mid 1980s. Traffic lights have been installed at the end of the city approach to the tunnel to ease congestion and improve safety at the Basin Reserve
Basin Reserve
The Basin Reserve , is a cricket ground in Wellington, New Zealand, used for Test, first-class and one-day cricket. Some argue that its proximity to the city, its Historic Place status and its age make it the most famous cricket ground in New Zealand...
roundabout. Mount Victoria Tunnel became part of State Highway 1
State Highway 1 (New Zealand)
State Highway 1 is the longest and most significant road in the New Zealand roading network, running the length of both main islands. It appears on road maps as SH 1 and on road signs as a white number 1 on a red shield, but it has the official designations SH 1N in the North Island, SH 1S in the...
in 1997 when Transit New Zealand
Transit New Zealand
Transit New Zealand was, from 1989 to 2008, the New Zealand Crown entity responsible for operating and planning the New Zealand State Highway network...
designated the road from Wellington Airport
Wellington International Airport
Wellington International Airport is an international airport located in the suburb of Rongotai in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. It is a secondary hub and focus city for Air New Zealand and its subsidiaries...
to the Basin Reserve a State Highway. The NZTA
New Zealand Transport Agency
The New Zealand Transport Agency is a New Zealand Crown entity tasked with promoting safe and functional transport by land, including the responsibility for driver and vehicle licensing and investigating rail accidents. It was created on 1 August 2008 by the Land Transport Management Amendment...
has no plans in the next ten years to duplicate the tunnel, but plans to investigate work to upgrade the city approaches around the Basin Reserve, including a possible flyover to Buckle Street, to reduce congestion at the city end of the tunnel and around the Basin Reserve. A study is currently underway (the Ngauranga to Airport Study) investigating long-term transport options for the route. The study indicates that a new tunnel would cost around (NZ)$170 million.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the government planned to use the tunnel as an air raid
Airstrike
An air strike is an attack on a specific objective by military aircraft during an offensive mission. Air strikes are commonly delivered from aircraft such as fighters, bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters, and others...
shelter if Wellington were attacked. However, the plan was scrapped, as the tunnel was thought to be too vulnerable to assault from either side by hostile troops.
A well-known local story revolves around a murder that occurred during the construction of the Mount Victoria Tunnel. A young woman named Phylis Simons was murdered by her lover, who buried her alive in the fill from the tunnel. It is suspected that the girl was pregnant by her lover and the story was later covered in the Wellington newspapers. Upon learning of the murder, police ordered workers to excavate the tunnel's fill in order to find the victim's body.
Usage
Around 45,000 vehicles pass through the Mount Victoria each day. The tunnel also accommodates pedestrians and cyclists, who use an elevated ramp on the north side of the roadway. In the late 1970s, a number of crime incidents resulted in an alarm system being installed based on buttons spaced along the length of the pedestrian ramp; the system was removed several years later, as it proved ineffective. Recent additions include new lighting, CCTV cameras, brighter cleanable side panels and pollution control. These have significantly improved safety in the tunnel.The tunnel currently is a traffic bottleneck in the morning peak from around 7.30 to 9.00am on the Hataitai side with traffic sometimes backing up over 1 km and in the afternoon peak between 5 and 6pm on the city side with queuing back around 0.5 km. Buses to the eastern suburbs bypass this congestion by using the much older single-lane Hataitai bus tunnel.
Improvements planned
The NZTA's 2009-2012 National Land Transport Programme indicates the NZTA's funding priorities for state highways and other projects funded from the National Land Transport Account over the next three years. It has included the following projects for Mount Victoria Tunnel and the approach roads to it:- NZ$3.7m for design for Mount Victoria Tunnel Safety improvements, as committed funding;
- NZ$2.6m for investigation into improvements on roads around Basin Reserve approaching the tunnel, as committed funding;
- NZ$2.2m for design into improvements on road around Basin Reserve approaching the tunnel, classified as "probable" project to start 2011/12;
- NZ$1.1m for property purchase for potential improvements around Basin Reserve, classified as "probable" project to start 2010/11;
- NZ$40.5m for construction of Mount Victoria Tunnel Safety Improvements, classified as "probable" project to start 2011/12;
- NZ$5.5m for investigation into Mount Victoria Tunnel duplication, classified as "probable" project to start 2011/12.
- NZ$0.1m for investigation into Mount Victoria Tunnel walking/cycling improvements, classified as "Reserve" project, to start 2009/10;
- NZ$0.1m for design into Mount Victoria Tunnel walking/cycling improvements, classified as "Reserve" project, to start 2010/11;
- NZ$1.1m for construction of Mount Victoria Tunnel walking/cycling improvements, classified as "Reserve" project, to start 2011/12.
What this indicates is that the next three years will likely see significant safety improvements made to the tunnel, with some funding on continued investigation, design and property purchases planning for any further upgrades to the tunnel and approach roads beyond that timeframe.
The National Land Transport Programme also forecasts the cost of Basin Reserve improvements to be around NZ$41.2m, but classifies it as a "Reserve" project" with no date for commencement. It is unlikely construction work on this project, if approved, would commence before 2012.
The National Land Transport Programme forecasts costs for duplication of Mount Victoria Tunnel at NZ$6.6m for the design phase and $8.8m for property purchases, but no figure for construction of the tunnel. The design and property purchase phases are classified as "Reserve" and are unlikely to proceed until completion of the investigation phase. This means it is almost certain no construction work could commence on duplicating Mount Victoria Tunnel before 2012. Given the dependency of such a project on improvements at the Basin Reserve, it would be fair to assume that any tunnel duplication is dependent on significant capacity improvements to traffic flow around the Basin Reserve.