In July the Government announced the funding for this project to improve the safety and resilience of the Homer Tunnel, which opened in 1953.
NZ Transport Agency Milford Road Alliance started by implementing $3 million worth smaller safety improvements following recommendations of an investigation into a car fire in the tunnel at the beginning of 2020.
Work completed included an upgraded tunnel power system and lighting and fitting new speakers inside the tunnel to communicate with people caught there in an emergency.
A new protected duct is also being built along the full 1.2km length of the tunnel to protect cabling, fibre and other systems during a fire, says NZTA System Manager Graeme Hall.
Over the next year, an extra lane will be built at the eastern tunnel traffic signal.
