Melling interchange and northern expressway: cost blowouts revealed as government commits to billions on Wellington regional road projects
Friday, 4 June 2021
Major roading projects for the Wellington region once in doubt, including the Melling Interchange and the northern expressway, are firmly back on the table despite the bill soaring by tens of millions.
On Friday morning the Government announced the cost of its $6.8 billion transport package “NZ Upgrade”, first announced in January last year, had blown out to $12.8b and several key projects had been dropped.
However, after doubts were raised about several projects in the Wellington region, including improvements to Melling Interchange in Lower Hutt and the Ōtaki to North of Levin expressway, the Government has again committed to funding these projects.
Both are expected to cost more.
The Melling Interchange is expected to cost $420m, $162m more than initially budgeted. The northern expressway was originally estimated to cost “more than $817m”, but a bill of $1.5bn was now projected.
Improvements to State Highway 58 between the Hutt Valley and Porirua also received $105m.
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Despite the cost blowouts, Hutt South MP Ginny Andersen said the region had come up trumps following the announcement. She was particularly pleased with Melling.
“There was a time when it was uncertain [it would get funded].”
Andersen said she advocated “like heck” to get Melling funded because “it means so much to the Hutt”.
The Melling project will remove the signal controlled intersection on State Highway 2 which have been blamed for congestion and accidents. It will also involve installing new flood protection for Lower Hutt.
Hutt City Mayor Campbell Barry said flood protection was critical for Lower Hutt’s residents and businesses.
“It will make a big difference in the city’s resilience. You just have to look at what’s happening [in Canterbury] to appreciate how important this is.”
The funding would allow the council to get on with consenting the project, so works could start as soon as possible.
He said the new intersection would be no silver bullet for traffic problems on SH2, but it would go a long way to improving things.
National’s Hutt South-based MP Chris Bishop has been a vocal advocate of the project, having last month launched a petition to get it funded.
It’d been a long road to get to this point, the securing of Melling was great news for Hutt Valley residents, he said.
Yesterday dignitaries from Horowhenua and Kāpiti welcomed news that the Ōtaki to north of Levin expressway was on firmer ground.
Horowhenua District Council deputy mayor Jo Mason said she was delighted the highway had received the green light, as it was long overdue and needed.
She said the congestion on Levin’s main road could not continue, and people needed to be able to get around safely and efficiently.