Station’s closure means traffic ‘chaos’

Wednesday, 23 August 2023

Welllington commuters can expect 18 months of traffic “chaos” once construction of RiverLink gets underway.

A key part of the $700 million project involves moving the Melling Railway station south and connecting it to a footbridge over the Te Awa Kairangi/Hutt River. As well as upgrading stopbank defences, RiverLink also features an interchange at Melling and a new road bridge.

Initially, it was planned to build the new station first so there would be a continuous train service. However, the regional council is now proposing to close the line from July next year for up to 18 months.

Lower Hutt based regional councillor Quentin Duthie said that was bad news for Western Hills residents, who were already facing years of congestion resulting from the construction of the interchange on State Highway 2.

Contractors were now also proposing the long-term closure of one lane of SH2, to move underground water services.

Duthie supported safeguarding water infrastructure but closing a lane would only make congestion worse.

He agreed with a Hutt City Council officer who predicted it would result in traffic “chaos” and said locals could expect years of delays.

A report to regional councillors this Thursday said there was a danger that Melling commuters, forced to use their car, may never return to public transport and proposed a “mitigation plan” to limit the impact on Melling commuters.

Suggestions included new and free bus services, and additional park-and-ride facilities.

Once the project was finished, the report predicted there would be significant benefits for Melling line users.

“Ultimately, the improved access to the Melling Line, as well as reinstatement of improved travel time and convenience will mean that it is highly likely Melling Line patronage will return to, and even exceed, current levels.”

Duthie supported a mitigation plan and hoped it includes encouraging Upper Hutt residents to get out of their cars and onto trains.

Free buses, to Waterloo or Petone stations, for Western Hills residents was another option.

Staff and trains freed up by the closure of the Melling Line could be used to provide longer trains, he said.

The regional council should use the likely congestion as an opportunity to encourage more people to use trains.

“Traffic is likely to be heavily congested, with increased frustration, wasted time and climate emissions as a result. Reducing the number of cars travelling through Melling will be better for everyone.”

Getting the mitigation plan right was the key to avoiding a repeat of the situation in Stokes Valley, where the repair of slips on Eastern Hutt Rd had caused long delays, he says.

“Otherwise we are just going to end up in gridlock. It will be like Stokes Valley times 10.”

Hutt City councillor Simon Edwards, who lives in Belmont and catches the Melling train two to three times a week, urged locals to think long term.

Although there will be some short-term pain, he said the benefits for the city would be significant.

Once the work was finished there should be less congestion on SH2 and improvements to the Melling Line would make it a much more reliable service. The council hoped that RiverLink would transform central Lower Hutt, resulting in thousands of new apartments.

That should result in more trains on the line and the possibility of weekend trains.

Construction, however, is going to have major implications for everyone north of Melling, including Upper Hutt and Wairarapa.

Deputy mayor Tui Lewis said locals had time to prepare and she urged commuters to think about how they would get to work and to plan ahead.

The project would make the city more resilient and she said people should focus on the future benefits RiverLink would bring.

Duthie is conducting a survey to gather information from locals to help identify ways to reduce the impact of the project on commuters.