Two tunnels for Wellington

The Post reports:

Two new tunnels are planned for Wellington as Transport Minister Simeon Brown confirms the preferred options for how residents get around.

Brown announced on Tuesday afternoon the board of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi had decided what it wanted for the city: A 0.7km Mount Victoria Tunnel parallel to the existing tunnel, a 0.5km Terrace Tunnel parallel to the existing tunnel, extending the Arras tunnel under the Pukeahu National War memorial, and changes for traffic around the Basin Reserve.

This sounds good – the two extra tunnels will allow the long awaited four lanes from the airport to Otaki/Levin.

The board of the agency had decided against pursuing a previously discussed long tunnel under the city, which Brown had said could save up to 15 minutes for people travelling to the airport and be built with much less disruption to the city centre.

I liked that option, but I suspect the price was horrendously high.=