What can people expect to see from the $6.4 billion Let's Get Wellington Moving programme in 2021?
Thursday, 24 December 2020
It’s been five years since plans were made to “Get Wellington Moving”, yet so far the only tangible change that has tumbled out of the programme is reduced traffic speeds in the central city. With the 20-year grand plan recently undergoing a review, and no funding allocated beyond June next year, reporter Damian George takes a look at what Wellingtonians can expect, if anything, in 2021.
The $6.4 billion Let’s Get Wellington Moving (LGWM) programme is navigating its way down an uncertain road.
Revealed in May 2019, after more than three years of planning and consultation, the 20-year plan is now effectively on hold heading into 2021 as the findings of an external review, yet to be made public, are considered.
There is very little detail about what the programme will do to fix the capital’s transport woes beyond 2020. Some projects have already been delayed, and specific funding for anything has not been decided beyond June next year.
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However, based on other information that is available, here is what Wellington can expect of major parts of Let’s Get Wellington Moving going into 2021.
Cobham Drive crossing
Construction of the preferred option for a pedestrian route across State Highway 1 on Cobham Drive was meant to begin by the end of 2020.
Instead, public consultation on the development, one of several “early delivery” projects in the LGWM programme, is not scheduled to occur until sometime in 2021.
Any further details on the project, which Stuff reported in 2019 was most likely to be a traffic light-controlled pedestrian crossing, would not be confirmed until the review was completed.
Golden Mile revamp
The preferred option for a revamp of the central city thoroughfare is scheduled to be revealed early in 2021, based on public feedback received on three options in late 2020.
Despite significant opposition from affected businesses, the feedback showed support for the most radical option, which involved removing all general traffic from the route and converting most intersections with side streets into pedestrian areas.
There would continue to be one bus lane in each direction, with 75 per cent more footpath space created.
Detailed design on the preferred option, which could combine elements of all three initial proposals, is scheduled for mid-2021, with changes to be rolled out from 2022.
Thorndon Quay and Hutt Rd
Plans to improve public transport, cycling, and walking facilities on the 5-kilometre stretch of road between Mulgrave St, near Lambton Quay, and the bottom of Ngauranga Gorge have also been delayed.
A range of options were initially scheduled to be released in 2020, with a preferred option identified later that year and work on changes beginning in early 2021.
But the initial options are yet to be released, and the programme’s latest timeline shows a preferred option won’t be identified until mid-2021, with changes being made from 2022.
However, even that timeline is yet to be confirmed, with a spokesperson for LGWM saying no further details could be provided until the updated “programme roadmap” was determined.
The changes will aim to give buses more priority, make walking and cycling safer, and improve access to ferry terminals and the port.
Extra Mt Victoria tunnel/Basin Reserve tunnel
Early business case work for an extra Mt Victoria tunnel and Basin Reserve road improvements are still on track for early in 2021, with results to be released for public feedback later in the year.
As it stands, both projects are not due to be delivered until after 2029, with construction work to begin sometime within the next 10 years and take several years to complete.
The $700m duplicate Mt Victoria tunnel would run adjacent to the existing tunnel, and would include a widened Ruahine St and Wellington Rd.
While nothing has been confirmed for the Basin Reserve roundabout, documents published in 2019 revealed the preferred option was to construct a tunnel under an extended Sussex St on the western side of the venue. The project is expected to cost $190m.
Mass rapid transit
Early business case work for a mass public transport system is also on track to be completed early in 2021 and taken to the public later in the year.
Again, while nothing has been confirmed, the likely route is from Wellington Railway Station, along the waterfront quays, up Taranaki St, and past the Basin Reserve to Wellington Regional Hospital in Newtown.
This first stage of construction is scheduled to begin between 2024 and 2029.
A second stage of construction, sometime after 2029, would see the route extended through Kilbirnie to Wellington Airport.
The technology chosen could be light rail, trackless trams, or a rapid bus route.
LGWM is a joint venture between NZTA, Wellington City Council, and Greater Wellington Regional Council, and is tasked with easing traffic congestion between Wellington Airport and Ngauranga Gorge.
It was established in 2015 after the agency’s proposal to build a highway flyover near the Basin Reserve was scuppered by a board of inquiry the previous year.