Government Launches Detailed Business Case for New Waitematā Harbour Crossing

Government will undertake a Detailed Business Case (DBC) on options for an additional Waitemata Harbour Crossing (WHC), including looking at funding and financing and delivery Project will now be Crown-led with a Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) reporting directly to Ministers Cabinet has agreed to commission a further study into Meola Reef, if the Council is interested. The Council will be invited to contribute.

Government will also consider a Market-led proposal for an innovative construction methodology to upgrade the existing bridge.

The Coalition Government has made decisions on next steps for the Waitematā Harbour Crossing project, Transport Minister Chris Bishop and Auckland Minister Simon Watts have announced.

The existing Auckland Harbour Bridge was completed in 1959 and forms part of the busiest corridor of the State Highway network in New Zealand, carrying 170,000 vehicles daily. It underpins almost $1 billion in annual economic activity, with this activity projected to increase to $3.9 billion by 2051, Mr Bishop says.

But the corridor is currently limited by the performance of the bridge. Weight restrictions already constrain freight and buses, and the lack of dedicated public transport (PT) lanes prevents us making the best use of the Northern Busway, which today carries 40% of all people crossing the bridge.

These limitations are only going to become more acute. Major renewals are needed in the coming decades, with extended lane closures. Without an additional crossing in place, the total economic cost of that disruption is estimated at around $4.8 billion.

That is not an acceptable outcome. We need Auckland – New Zealand’s economic engine room – connected, productive, and set up for growth and prosperity. The case for a new crossing is strong, and we are committed to delivering it.

The WHC project will likely be the largest and most expensive infrastructure project ever undertaken in New Zealand. It is imperative that we get it right because New Zealand’s fiscal position, economic performance, and reputation as a modern, functional, first-world country depends on it.

Getting this project right means figuring out what we are going to build based on what we've found in the ground and under the harbour, not just what works on paper. It means being up front about what we can afford, how we will pay for it, how we will deliver it, and how it will fit into the wider Auckland network. It also means talking to Aucklanders and the Opposition before the Government endorses a preferred option – not after.

In October 2024, we set out the Government’s expectations for the project and requested the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) undertake detailed analysis of the highest performing bridge and tunnel options for the WHC project.

Since then, NZTA has significantly advanced the WHC project, including value engineering to reduce costs and due diligence on construction requirements for the first time such as geotechnical investigations. It was fantastic to see a barge in the harbour performing seabed and ground condition testing – up until then, only desktop studies have been done.

In May 2026, NZTA completed an Investment Case, and on 15 May 2026 the NZTA Board endorsed a preferred option – a tunnel.

Despite the great progress that has been made, more information and work is required before Cabinet can select a preferred option.

Given the scale and complexity of this project, Cabinet has agreed that an independently led DBC is needed. This will allow us to do further work required on funding and financing, and delivery model options. It will also allow us to consider the Auckland transport network more broadly including NZTA’s Auckland Motorway Plan, any time-of-use charging scheme, and the 30-year Auckland Integrated Transport Plan to be developed as part of the Auckland Transport governance reforms.

The WHC DBC will be independently led by a Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) who will answer directly to the Ministers of Finance, Transport, and Auckland, and Cabinet.

We will look globally to find the right person for this critical role – someone with the expertise and experience to deliver who we will hold to account.

Every country that has built a megaproject this size has learned the same lesson: they cost more and take longer than the first estimates suggest. Not necessarily because of the engineering, but because of scale, duration, and the number of approvals and decision-makers involved along the way. That's a governance problem, and it has a governance solution.

The Crown is the decisionmaker, it holds the funding levers, and it carries the risk, so we need to be able to direct the project. NZTA has done good work to get us to this point and will remain central to delivery, but it’s Cabinet’s view that the project should directly report to Ministers.

The SRO will be supported by a Steering Group comprised of senior representatives from Treasury; NZTA; National Infrastructure Funding and Financing Ltd; the Ministry of Cities, Environment; Regions, and Transport; independent members; as well as the Board Chair of the Auckland Regional Transport Committee.

It’s important that we work meaningfully with Auckland and Aucklanders, says Mr Watts.

The Mayor of Auckland has expressed a strong view that a corridor solution at Meola Reef is a better idea than NZTA’s proposals. The Meola Reef option has been looked at many times in the past before and discounted as unachievable, but in the spirit of good faith, and recognising the Government’s responsibilities under the Auckland City Deal, Cabinet has agreed to commission a further study into the option, if the Council is interested.

This study would be commissioned by the WHC project SRO, independent from NZTA. Auckland Council will be invited to contribute to the study’s scoping and procurement, and to fund 50 percent of the cost of the study.

In addition, the Government has also received a Market Led Proposal (MLP) from a reputable international consortium for an innovative construction methodology to upgrade the existing bridge. Officials have recommended that this proposal advance and be integrated as part of the detailed business case phase of work on the WHC project, Mr Bishop says.

This is exactly what the MLP process is for. If the private sector has innovative ideas and solutions, we want to consider those. The Government certainly doesn’t have a monopoly on good ideas.

Previous governments have gone out and announced what they are going to build before they have done the work required around how much it will cost, how they are going to pay for it, and whether the project is deliverable. This Government does not intend to make the same mistake.

It is also our intention to consult meaningfully with the Opposition and Aucklanders before endorsing an option. This project will span multiple Parliaments and multiple governments – it is important that all serious political parties buy-in to the process.

We expect this next phase of work to be completed in 2027. The Government will then consider the DBC, which will include the Meola Reef study and the market-led proposal, before making decisions on a preferred crossing option.

The actions we’ve announced today are to ensure that the project starts on the best possible footing. As Mayor Brown has said, projects don’t go wrong – they start wrong. I couldn’t agree more, that’s why we are making sure we set this project and, by extension, Auckland up for success.