The new road tunnel in Auckland was officially opened today by the Prime Minister, Bill English. He was joined by two other Ministers and they all three cut the ribbon at the same time.
However, the tunnel is not ready for vehicles yet. It was open for people to walk through. About 17,000 people walked through the 2.4km tunnel today. There will be 4 more open days so that more people can walk or cycle through. After that, it will be open for vehicles at the beginning of July.
The tunnel connects Mt Roskill with Pt Chevalier so that cars from the airport will be able to join Highway 16 into the city or out west. The tunnel started in 2013 and cost $1.4bn. In fact, there are two tunnels – twin tunnels – each with three lanes.
At 2.4 km these tunnels are the longest road tunnels in New Zealand. Previously the Lyttelton tunnel in Christchurch was the longest at 1.97km.
Vocabulary
• Mt – Mount (short for mountain)
• Pt – Point – a bit of land like a finger that sticks out into the sea