Lyttelton road tunnel facts for kids
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| The Lyttelton tunnel portal at the southern end | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Location | Christchurch |
| Coordinates | 43°35′39″S 172°42′42″E / 43.5942°S 172.7116°E |
| Status | Open |
| Route |  Christchurch–Lyttelton Motorway |
| Operation | |
| Owner | NZ Transport Agency |
| Traffic | 10,755 (2010) |
| Toll | nil |
| Technical | |
| Length | 1,970 metres (6,460 ft) |
| Number of lanes | two |
| Operating speed | 50 km/h |
The Lyttelton road tunnel is a special road that goes through the Port Hills in New Zealand. It connects the city of Christchurch with its port, Lyttelton. The tunnel opened in 1964 and is part of State Highway 74. More than 10,000 vehicles use it every day.
At 1,970 metres (6,460 ft) long, it was the longest road tunnel in New Zealand for many years. It held this record until July 2, 2017, when the Waterview Tunnels became the longest.
Even though the tunnel itself was not harmed by the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, the building that controlled the tunnel was badly damaged. This building, called the Lyttelton Road Tunnel Administration Building, was very old and important. It had to be taken down in 2013. A new, stronger control building was finished in 2014.
Contents
Building the Lyttelton Tunnel: A History
Early Travel Challenges
When the first European settlers arrived in Canterbury in the 1850s, they faced a big problem. There were no easy ways to get their goods from the farms to the ships in Lyttelton Harbour. The only port with deep water was in Lyttelton, but it was separated from Christchurch by the Port Hills.
People had to carry their goods over a very steep path called the Bridle Path. This path was built in 1850 and was the main way to cross the hills. It was very difficult, especially for heavy loads.
In 1851, people started looking for better ways to reach the sea. They thought about building a road tunnel, but decided against it. One funny reason was that they worried horses would get sick going from the warm plains into a cold tunnel! Instead, a road was built over Evans Pass, which was finished in 1857.
However, the Evans Pass road was not good enough as more and more people and goods needed to move. This led to the building of the rail tunnel, which connected Lyttelton and Christchurch by 1867.
Why a Road Tunnel Was Needed
As cars became popular in New Zealand, people realized they needed a much better road connection between Christchurch and Lyttelton. For many years, there was a big debate about whether to build a road tunnel or a canal.
In 1919, an Australian company offered to build a road tunnel, but the idea didn't happen. By 1920, a group called the Christchurch-Lyttelton Tunnel Road League was formed. They worked hard to convince people and the government that a tunnel was necessary.
After many years of discussions and planning, the idea of a road tunnel finally gained strong support. In 1944, a man named William Smith MacGibbon helped persuade the New Zealand government to start making plans for the tunnel.
Getting Ready to Build
After World War II, things moved slowly for a while. But in 1953, the Prime Minister, Sidney Holland, helped pass a special law. This law created the Road Tunnel Authority. This group was in charge of building and managing the tunnel. They could also collect tolls (a fee to use the tunnel) to pay for its construction.
The Ministry of Works and Development (MOW) designed the tunnel. They decided on a tunnel that would be 24 ft (7.3 m) wide, with small edges on the sides for maintenance workers. They had thought about adding paths for bikes, but decided against it to save money.
In 1960, the Road Tunnel Authority got approval to borrow money to build the tunnel.
Starting Construction
In August 1960, the MOW asked companies to bid for the job of building the tunnel. They estimated it would cost about £3.5 million.
In January 1961, seven companies sent in their bids. The contract was given to a joint team of Fletcher Construction from New Zealand and Kaiser Engineers from the United States. Their bid was £1,947,748, and it included tiling the inside of the tunnel.
Besides the tunnel, a new motorway was also built from Ferry Road to the Heathcote Underpass. This motorway was about 5 km long and included bridges over the Heathcote River and the railway line. This part of the project cost around £530,000.
Digging the Tunnel
The contract said the tunnel had to be finished within three years. Fletcher-Kaiser decided to dig the tunnel from the Heathcote end, which was the northern side. They started digging in August 1961.
On September 9, 1961, there was a special ceremony to mark the official start of work. The tunnel digging went very fast, moving about 23.2 ft (7.1 m) each day. Workers used three shifts, six days a week.
To help with air quality inside the tunnel, large fans were used to pull out smoke and fumes from the diesel machinery. Later, a smaller ventilation tunnel was dug from the Lyttelton end to connect with the main tunnel. This helped clear the air even faster and made the main digging more efficient.
Most of the tunnel was dug through stable rock, so only about 8% of it needed strong steel supports. In other areas, they used rock bolts or a mix of steel mesh and sprayed concrete to keep the rock from falling.
The digging of the tunnel was finished on August 18, 1962, which was on time and within budget! After that, they started putting concrete on the inside walls of the tunnel. Over 34,000 cubic metres of concrete were used inside the tunnel.
Then, the tunnel walls were covered with 306,000 square feet of tiles that came from overseas. A new type of special glue was used to stick the tiles on. Buildings were also built at both ends of the tunnel to house the large ventilation fans.
The total cost for Fletcher-Kaiser's work was £2,112,542. When you add in other costs like buying land and building the control building, the total cost of the tunnel (not including the motorway) was £2.7 million.
Opening Day
The Lyttelton Road Tunnel officially opened on February 27, 1964. The Governor-General, Sir Bernard Fergusson, was there for the ceremony. People in the area were very excited and called it "the new gateway for the Port to the Plains." It was a huge step forward for the region.
At first, there was a 20-cent toll to use the tunnel. But this toll was removed on April 1, 1979, so now it's free to drive through.
How the Tunnel Works Today
The original Lyttelton Road Tunnel Administration Building was a very important old building. After it was damaged in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, a new control building was built. This new building was made extra strong to handle future earthquakes. It was finished in 2014 and cost $1.5 million.
In 2010, about 10,755 vehicles used the tunnel every day. About 12% of these were large trucks.
Cyclists are not allowed to ride their bikes through the tunnel for safety reasons. For many years, there was one special day a year when cyclists could go through. However, since 2007, Christchurch buses have special racks on the front that can carry bicycles. This allows cyclists to get between Heathcote and Lyttelton safely.
Images for kids
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Southern (Lyttelton) portal of the Lyttelton road tunnel under construction in 1964
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Northern (Heathcote) portal of the Lyttelton road tunnel in 2010
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Southern (Lyttelton) portal of the Lyttelton road tunnel in 2010
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Inside Northern (Heathcote) portal of the Lyttelton road tunnel in 2010
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Northern portal from the Bridle Path, May 2010
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