While Wellington has 5 road tunnels and one bus tunnel, Auckland hasn't had one until now. This SH1 tunnel is 450 metres long and runs under Victoria Park. The $340 million tunnel will be open to vehicles in November and will increase motorway capacity across Victoria Park, which is the last major traffic bottleneck on Auckland's central motorway network. It will carry three lanes of northbound traffic, while the existing Victoria Park flyover will be reconfigured to carry southbound traffic.
However, its first use last night was for a charity dinner organised by the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and trucks, cars and buses were replaced by red carpet, miniature trees and cocktails.
One thousand guests and dignitaries pulled up a chair and a cocktail on the tarmac for a once in a lifetime dinner experience inside the newly constructed motorway onramp tunnel. "We've never done anything on State Highway One, and we've never done anything in a tunnel before,'' said Stu Robertson, the director of Orange Group which put the event on. The dinner was a chance for the staff including engineers, architects and builders who contributed towards the tunnel's construction, to see it in all its glory,
The road was vacuum cleaned and the tunnel walls were washed in preparation for the lavish event. Power had to be supplied as well as two temporary kitchens on platforms, one at each end, to prepare the guests' meals, Robertson said. Music was provided by the Avalanche City, Annabel Fay and Lisa Crawley along with a floor gymnastics performance by Eve Gordon.
Once final drinks were served, NZ Transport would install 'cats eyes' on the road in time for the official opening walk-through with Prime Minister John Key on Saturday which 17,000 people had reserved tickets for.
Ronald McDonald House was the choice charity for the event, with proceeds going towards the completion of the new Grafton Mews facility. It will provide an additional 18 rooms to families with children in hospital care. NZ Transport Agency had an "overwhelming" response from the public to walk the 450 metre stretch underneath Victoria Park. Registrations easily reached the 17,000 maximum number of people that could be managed safely. The walk-through was a 'thank you' to Aucklanders, NZTA Auckland and Northland State Highways Manager Tommy Parker said.
(rewritten stuff story, TVNZ video)
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