An Auckland mayoral candidate wants to open old, boarded-up air raid tunnels beneath the city in the name of transport and tourism.
The 3.5km network of tunnels under Albert Park was built in 1942 to help shelter 22,000 Aucklanders in the event of bombing raids, and Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck thinks now is the time to open them up.
Beck wants to see the 600m main tunnel turned into a walking and cycling connection between the CBD and Parnell – that part of the project she expected would take 12 to 24 months.
It’s not an original idea, with campaigners working for decades to open the tunnels.
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And now Beck along with campaigners like Bill Reid believe the tunnels could be turned into tourist attractions including glow-worm caves and a cheese and wine cellar.
“These tunnels are sitting there all formed, they just need some excavation,” Reid said last year.
“In some places the tunnels have collapsed and the ceiling would need to be secured.”
RICKY WILSON/Stuff
Auckland mayoral candidate Viv Beck wants to open up the tunnels below the city’s Albert Park.
Beck believes the work to get the tunnels up to working order would be relatively straightforward and could be expected to cost between $25 and $35 million.
“What’s required is for the tunnel to be cleared and the ceilings reinforced, for a little more excavation to make the tunnel wider and deeper, and for a lift shaft and stairwell to be built to provide the University connection.”
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff has expressed support for the concept in the past, saying it was “an idea that has real potential”.
The tunnels were closed as a safety measure in 1946 when some timber supports started to show signs of deterioration.
By the end of the war, they were filled in with 8.8 million unfired clay bricks.
The entrances were sealed in 1946.
Supplied
Workers on the Albert Park Tunnels, circa 1942.
Only a handful of people, including urban explorers, have been inside the tunnels since.
“There’s plenty of reported interest from developers, and I’ve heard all sorts of fantastic ideas for private development put forward – from glow worm caves to wine and cheese cellars to a wax museum,” Beck said.
“Alongside public space for functions, art work, and displays that tell the story of the tunnels, it’ll make for a really special experience.”
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