Read an earlier article by clicking on the image – “Waterview Tunnel set to open early July”

The first vehicles travelled through the Waterview Tunnel early Sunday morning.

Transport Minister Simon Bridges said the opening was the most significant change in Auckland‘s transport system since the opening of the Auckland Harbour Bridge in 1959.

“The Waterview Tunnel will transform the way people and freight move around the city, providing more options and a more efficient, resilient and reliable transport system,” he said.

The $1.4 billion Waterview Connection is New Zealand‘s biggest and most complex roading project ever, with the twin tunnels completing a key link in the Western Ring Route. Bridges said it had been a priority project for the Government because of the significant contribution it would make to New Zealand‘s economic growth and prosperity.

“Wider economic benefits are estimated to be worth $430 million, through improved productivity and reduced travel time, and also include the creation of more than 18,000 jobs during the construction of the tunnel.

The Waterview Connection links the Southwestern and Northwestern motorways – providing a 48-kilometre motorway alternative route that will ease pressure on State Highway 1 and the Auckland Harbour Bridge.

“This has been a long awaited and eagerly anticipated piece of transport infrastructure envisioned decades ago. It‘s fantastic that New Zealand‘s biggest and most ambitious transport infrastructure project is now open to vehicles,” Bridges said.