Transmission Gully motorway could be bad news for SH2 motorists in wake of project delays
Thursday, 25 April 2019
The Government's decision to shelve two major Hutt Valley roading projects has stoked fears that congestion will be even more unbearable next year once the Transmission Gully motorway floods State Highway 2 with thousands more vehicles.
That is the view of Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy, who says New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) reports predict a 30 per cent increase in traffic on Hutt Valley highways once Transmission Gully is finished in 2020.
The agency says the 30 per cent figure is from a dated report, and a more accurate figure was a 19 per cent increase.
While the four-lane Transmission Gully motorway, being built between northern Wellington and Paekakariki on the Kāpiti Coast, will serve as SH1 upon completion, its links to SH58 – between Porirua and Lower Hutt – are expected to make that highway a more attractive option for accessing SH2 in the Hutt Valley.
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An NZTA report from 2011 noted 18,100 vehicles per day use SH58. A 19 per cent increase on that figure amounts to 3439 more vehicles per day.
Two projects in the pipeline to alleviate this pressure were the Petone-Grenada highway, which would link northern Wellington to Lower Hutt, and the Melling Interchange, which would eliminate a heavily-congested traffic light intersection on SH2. Planning for both were pushed along by the previous National government.
At one point, the transport agency predicted 29,700 cars would be using the Petone-Grenada highway every day by 2026.
But earlier this month, the agency announced the Petone-Grenada highway did not align with the current Labour-led government's transport priorities, and funding for any sort of road through the area would not be considered until 2028.
It also said funding for construction a Melling Interchange would be delayed until the same time.
Guppy said all this showed a lack of planning. The existing Melling intersection on SH2 was already a 'major chokepoint' and he predicted it would get worse once Transmission Gully is finished.
The impact of the extra traffic could be negative for Upper Hutt and the wider economy, with the city undergoing a property boom driven by Wellingtonians heading north for affordable housing. Anecdotal evidence suggested many commuted to Wellington by car, he said.
'Anyone that drives on SH2 will know that over the last 12 months it has become more and more congested and that is because of the growth.'
Lower Hutt's population has increase by 2.6 per cent over the past two years, to 106,000. Upper Hutt's population was 40,179 in 2013 and is expected to reach 42,882 by June.
SH58 will become the defacto 'gateway to the Hutt Valley' and congestion will impact negatively on the economic benefits that Transmission Gully should deliver, Guppy said.
Lower Hutt Mayor Ray Wallace is also frustrated and is planning to lobby Transport Minister Phil Twyford for a more co-ordinated approach to roading.
Twyford agreed Wellington needed 'a coordinated approach to transport' and said that is why NZTA was working with councils to develop regional transport plans.
The recent evaluation of the Melling Interchange confirmed it aligned with the wider transport plans for the Hutt Valley, and he would be meeting both Hutt Valley mayors in May to discuss the issue, he said
An NZTA spokesperson said a new study has been commissioned to give a more accurate picture of Transmission Gully's impact on the roading network. It will look at the likely impact on SH2 and the Melling intersection.