Design work for Melling interchange won't start until June 2017

Friday, 4 March 2016

Melling bridge and the intersection with State Highway Two is regular a choke point for traffic, particular during the morning and evening rush. A 12-month design process for a new-look interchange will begin in June next year.

A glimmer of hope for motorists caught in Melling Bride/State Highway Two congestion was delivered last week.

The Greater Wellington Regional Council committee overseeing flood protection work in the central city was given a timetable for how a new interchange might make progress.

New Zealand Transport Agency project manager Michael Fiazon said detailed work on interchange solutions would begin in June 2017.

The design, including a new Melling Bridge, would take a year.

Fiazon reminded councillors that the issue of who would pay for a new bridge was still to be decided.

'In terms of cost, that that is a conversation we will have to have much later on.'

Construction would be dependent on funding, getting resource consent and buying local properties. He predicted that the consenting process and purchasing properties would be complex and time consuming.

A number of proposed local traffic improvements were now on hold until the future of the interchange became clearer, he said,

The final design of the bridge was dependent on the design of the flood protection scheme. Until more details were known, the height and span of the bridge would not be known.

A Melling interchange has been talked about for at least three decades. Over the years it has come and gone from various roading authorities' plans.

In recent years the Hutt City Council has seen the need for a new bridge and an interchange as an increasing priority.

Fiazon said that it was important that NZTA, the Hutt City Council and GWRC worked together to produce the best possible design for the interchange, bridge and flood control.

After the meeting, GWRC flood manager Graeme Campbell said the approach outlined by Fiazon was positive.

NZTA was working on a co-ordinated approach to improve traffic flows from Ngauranga to Upper Hutt.

The indication that it was prepared to bring the Melling section forward was a good sign, he said.

He noted that NZTA would not be in a position to begin work on the design stage until June 2017.

GWRC hoped to begin the design stage for the Melling floodway project by March 2017 but a co-ordinated approach would ensure the best possible result, Campbell said.