The Homer Road Tunnel in the Fiordland region of the South Island of New Zealand has received an ambitious construction proposal from the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA).
As stated, NZTA has proposed construction of a new tunnel beside the old Homer tunnel or the expansion of the present tunnel to make it wider.
Safety has been stated as the main reason for the tunnel’s construction.
A widening of the tunnel, to allow for true two-laning, has also been a topic of discussion. This would be unlikely due to high costs though.
NZTA regional director Bruce Richards stated that a tender process for the design of any chosen upgrade will be carried out after October 2010. He added that the funding still needed to be allocated. Richards also indicated that work on the tunnel could begin within the next financial year. Work on the Homer tunnel project would cost around NZD14M to 15M (USD 10M to 10.7M).
The Homer Tunnel runs beneath the Homer Saddle within Fiordland National Park. The 1.27km long tunnel has a 10 per cent gradient and varies in width from 6.5m to 7.5m. At the height of the summer tourism season it is used by more than 100 tour buses a day.
