Wellington's $3B Mt Victoria Tunnel project enters fast-track process amid funding uncertainty

Wellington is about to remake itself—or it isn't. On Friday, the city's most ambitious infrastructure project in decades entered the fast-track consenting process, a legal pathway designed to move major developments through approval faster than the standard route. The SH1 Wellington Improvements project, which would add a second Mt Victoria tunnel, redesign the Basin Reserve, and reshape the roads feeding into the city's heart, is now officially under review. But the project carries an odd contradiction: it has no confirmed funding for actual construction, no timeline for when work might begin, and no guarantee it will ever be built.

The numbers alone suggest ambition at scale. The project could cost between $2.9 billion and $3.8 billion when complete. The New Zealand Transport Agency has already spent $33 million on consultants and contractors. The government has approved $185 million for design work, land acquisition, and early preparation. Yet that money stops short of the thing the project is actually for—building the tunnels and roads themselves. The fast-track process, which typically takes around 117 working days for a decision, will determine whether the project can proceed. But proceed to what, exactly, remains unclear.

The physical footprint of the plan is enormous. A second tunnel under Mt Victoria would be paired with a second Terrace Tunnel. The Basin Reserve, a landmark feature of central Wellington, would be redesigned so traffic flows in both directions around it. Vivian Street and Karo Drive would each gain a third lane. Ruahine Street and Wellington Road in Kilbirnie, the route toward the airport, would be widened. To make all this happen, the NZTA has identified 176 privately owned properties it may need to purchase outright, and another 146 properties where it may need to acquire underground rights for tunnel construction. Additionally, 3.2 hectares of the Town Belt—the green space that rings the city—would be taken for the project.

At a Wellington City Council meeting earlier this month, the project became a flashpoint. Councillors aligned with the Green Party called it a "ghost road" and a "ghost project," questioning why the government was fast-tracking something with no funding and no start date. Jonny Osborne, a councillor from the Motukairangi/Eastern Ward, was blunt: "It's fast-tracked to nowhere." His concern was not merely procedural. He and others argued that the project ignores climate reality by encouraging more car use, and that it would increase traffic on residential streets like Taranaki Street and Abel Smith Street, creating safety risks near schools and community facilities. Geordie Rogers, another Green-backed councillor, proposed using the fast-track process to push for pedestrianization of Cuba Street instead—a motion that failed when Mayor Andrew Little called it a waste of time.

Not everyone on council opposes the plan. Independent councillor Nicola Young supports it, though she expressed doubt it would be built for years or even decades. The late Tony Randle, who represented the Northern Ward, had backed the project as a solution to Wellington's chronic traffic congestion, arguing it was essential if the city wanted to grow. Transport Minister Chris Bishop, in a statement, rejected the "ghost road" framing entirely. He said the project would "unlock economic growth, improve productivity, and give Wellingtonians a safer, faster and more reliable connection" between the region, the CBD, the hospital, and the airport. The NZTA called the fast-track entry a "significant milestone" that would allow officials to protect the planned route.

The Environmental Protection Authority, which oversees the fast-track process, confirmed that a panel can approve a project even without construction funding attached, provided it meets statutory criteria for significant regional and national benefits. The panel will meet with invited stakeholders—the specific list varies by project—and will ultimately decide whether to approve, approve with conditions, or decline the application. NZTA project sponsor Robyn Elston said the application is now under review and will be made public on the agency's website once accepted as complete.

What happens next depends partly on bureaucratic timelines and partly on whether Wellington's political appetite for this particular vision of the city's future holds. The project was a National Party campaign promise, and improvements to the Mt Victoria corridor have been discussed for years. But the gap between approval and construction—between a green light and actual shovels in the ground—remains vast and undefined. For now, Wellington waits to see whether this is a genuine infrastructure priority or an elaborate planning exercise that will never leave the drawing board.