From bottleneck city to quiet suburbia: A Transmission Gully transformation

Thursday, 30 March 2023

Transmission Gully was first talked about in 1919. Nearly 100 years later, plans were in place to build the motorway, and as of March 31, it's actually open.

Horns blasting, brakes screeching, sirens blaring.

These were daily sounds for cafe worker Marihana Arraj in coastal Paekākāriki, on the main route north of Wellington – not crashing waves and birdsong.

Now Transmission Gully – the much-awaited, long-delayed, billion-dollar motorway – has changed all of that by dragging much of the traffic inland.

For Arraj, who manages Beach Road Deli, the road’s opening 12 months ago has been a welcome relief.

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“I can’t stress enough how much better it is,” she says.

Head-on crashes, like this one near the Beach Rd intersection in 2016, were regular for the community before Transmission Gully opened.

In Paekākāriki, one unassuming intersection now bypassed had a fearsome reputation for crashes. Cars had to cross both a railway line and two lanes of traffic carrying 25,000 vehicles a day.

Head-on crashes, side-impact crashes and long queues were normal for the village. The intersection was symbolic of the reality that something needed to be done about State Highway 1.

“Every single day we’d hear horns blaring from cars because of near misses. At least six times a week, it would be really dangerous out there,” Arraj says.

Former Ohariu MP Peter Dunne, former Prime Minister John Key, and Gerry Brownlee at the official sod turning ceremony for Transmission Gully, just north of Paekākāriki.

“Now, I could probably count on one hand the number of accidents we’ve had in the past year.”

Nicole Duke, owner of The Perching Parrot Cafe, believes Paekākāriki will thrive alongside the new highway if the town works to attract visitors.

Another resident, Francis Mills, says the fire station near his house has become much quieter as well.

“It seems like they’re getting called out a lot less than before and I’m sure it has something to do with our intersection being quieter.

“You’d hear trucks engine braking through the night and all that. Now it’s much more peaceful.”

Horowhenua district mayor Bernie Wanden says Levin has felt the success of the Transmission Gully and needs funding secured for its own bypass.

Transmission Gully motorway opened on March 30, 2022, cutting huge swathes of northern Porirua and the southern end of the Kāpiti Coast. Where once tens of thousands of vehicles passed by towns like Paekākāriki each day, today it’s just 6000.

For more than 100 years, an inland route was floated by various political figures but after decades of debates, submissions and grassroots campaigns, John Key’s National Government pulled the trigger and funding was secured in 2009.

Central Economic Development Agency chief executive Jerry Shearman says the Transmission Gully is key to Palmerston North’s new distribution hub for the lower North Island.

It formed part of the Roads of National Significance infrastructure project to “unclog New Zealand's growth arteries” as Key described it. The Waikato Expressway, motorways in Christchurch, Auckland’s Western Ring Route and the Kāpiti Expressway resulted.

Delays and cost blowouts that mired Transmission Gully have faded into memory for residents and business owners like Perching Parrot Café owner Nicole Duke, who have savoured a year of peace and quiet.

“When it opened, it was great. I’m on a chat group of about 35 other cafes and we obsessed over it. I followed all the updates the whole way through. But then the school holidays ended soon after and we saw a drop-off.

The Transmission Gully motorway heading southbound into Wellington

“So now, we have to find a way to attract people to the village. I know we can do it, but it’ll just take a bit of time. But we love having the road here, we really do.”

Further north, Horowhenua mayor Bernie Wanden is crying out for a bypass. His town now features the only two traffic lights between Wellington and Auckland on State Highway 1 and wants an end to the congestion.

“We’ve got to get Ōtaki to north of Levin built. Every indication has been that the Government will go ahead with it, but we need that funding secured and confirmed and we’re hoping for that in Budget 2023.

“The other roads have made a huge difference to our community. It’s safer, it’s a lot less stressful and to be on a four-lane highway all the way to Wellington has been excellent for our produce industry.”

In Manawatū, Central Economic Development Agency chief executive Jerry Shearman says the road plays a key part in Palmerston North’s new distribution hub Te Utanganui, which has faster link to CentrePort in Wellington.

”Personally, I’ve bumped into people who’ve made it a day trip from Wellington. A drop in drive time from just over two hours to one hour and forty minutes is a big difference.

Shops and houses along Mana Esplanade used to front on to a major national thoroughfare. Now, it’s a quiet suburban centre.

“I’m expecting the significance of our region to only grow. More businesses looking at us, more people coming to visit, and sense that our two cities are much closer together.”

Paekākāriki residents have good reason to be optimistic. When the Waikato Expressway was completed, residents and businesses in Cambridge commented on how the motorway cleared the town of passing traffic and made room for those who wanted to enjoy the town itself.

“I think we’ve got the best swimming spot on the whole Kāpiti Coast,” Duke says.

“You've got Queen Elizabeth Park with a dog friendly campsite and about three different bike tracks. And we’ve got the stairway to heaven walk too.

Changes have already occurred to accommodate this shift, with an old asbestos ridden petrol station being demolished to make more parking for the Escarpment Track walk.

Arraj says she’s noticed her cafe’s visitors have shifted to much busier weekends.

“The track is so important for us. We’re heaving on weekends with people getting food and coffees after their walk.”

Both Duke and Arraj both say they now prefer the quieter coast road, in part because of the scenery but also because of the mammoth hill rising up to the Wainui Saddle – Transmission Gully’s highest point.

So far, two vehicles have burst into flames during the ascent. Scorch marks at the top are still visible.

“My car’s an old girl” Arraj says. “And I just feel like that hill is just a bit tough on her.”

When the old highway was closed by a slip near Pukerua Bay, residents were forced to use Transmission Gully until the coast road was deemed safe.

Duke says notices her fuel usage rise when using the new highway.

“I’ll use [Transmission Gully] when I’m going to the Hutt, but you really chew through the gas. I’ve spoken to truck drivers using an extra $50 in fuel to use the road.”

One visitor to Paekākāriki was a bit more measured. Aaron, who didn’t want his surname used, witnessed his town, Waikanae, bypassed in 2017 and says it’s not all good news.

“There’s much more development concentrated around the expressway and it doesn’t seem like anything’s been done to public transport or cycling options. That infrastructure still isn’t up to scratch.

“I’m glad the road is safer and I love being able to get to Paekākāriki more easily, but I just wish there were more options here besides the car.”

Mana Esplanade, Pukerua Bay, the Paremata roundabout, and so many other former congestion blackspots all flow freely with local traffic. They’re forever changed into quiet suburbia, while the cars speed down the gully behind the hills.