$180m final cost for Let's Get Wellington Moving released

Saturday, 27 April 2024

A roundabout, lower speeds, and changes to Thorndon Quay are all part of the $180m cost.

More than $180 million was spent on the cancelled Let‘s Get Wellington Moving project with a pedestrian crossing, speed reductions, a roundabout, and changes to Thorndon Quay the only physical proof it ever existed.

Let’s Get Wellington Moving (LGWM) was a joint $7.4 billion capital transport project 60% funded by NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi with the Wellington City Council and the Greater Wellington Regional Council paying the rest. It was cancelled by the new government soon after coming to office.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi on Friday released the project’s total cost, which came in at $180,676,672. Even after being cancelled in December, $13.8m was spent. That is $60m more than the $120m spent by August ―. when the then-Labour government was refusing to commit to the scheme and National said it would ditch it if it came to power.

Act transport spokesperson Cameron Luxton says the spend ‘boggles the mind’.

Physical work amounted to Thorndon Quay changes including a bus lane and cycle way, a roundabout on Aotea Quay, a pedestrian crossing across Cobham Dr, and slower speeds on State Highway 1 in the eastern suburbs, and a speed limit reduction on most central city streets, the agency confirmed.

LGWM was to have been a major overhaul of the city’s transport with light rail, a second Mount Victoria tunnel, cycling and pedestrian improvements but was beset with multiple cost blowouts. When the government announced it was ditching the plan, it said that it would go it alone on the second tunnel, which may now be a much longer tunnel under the central city to Kilbirnie.

The city council is planning to make changes to the Golden Mile itself.

Waka Kotahi system design national manager Robyn Elston said just under $70m was spent on “progressing the planning and delivery” of City Streets cycling, walking, and street changes, as well as the Golden Mile works, and the already-underway changes to Thorndon Quay and tentatively-deferred work on Hutt Rd.

A further $50.5m went on developing a proposal for rapid transit and changes to SH1.

Plans, complete with an artist’s impression, for light rail were thrown out by the new government.

Consultants ‒ previously reported to have cost tax and rate payers $38.5m before 2023 with another $35m expected to be spent last year ‒ were included in those costs.

Elston said a further $27.7m was spent on salaries and expenses, including redundancies, as well as $17.1m on contractors, $7.6m on property acquisitions, $4.2m on looking at ways to get people out of car travel, and $3.7m on office costs.

Transport Minister Simeon Brown alleged the Labour Government 'utterly failed“ in delivering projects Wellingtonians wanted.

“I am focussed on delivering better state highway connections in Wellington,” he said. “This includes constructing a second Mt Victoria tunnel, which was listed as a priority project in the recently released draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport.”

ACT transport spokesperson Cameron Luxton said it 'boggles the mind that five years and $180m later all the project has to show for itself is a pedestrian crossing, a couple of bus lanes, and a roundabout“.

The $4.2m to look at ways to get people out of cars was part of Labour’s “anti-car crusade”, he said.

“[It] ultimately slammed both Wellington ratepayers and taxpayers with costs for endless planning, consultation, and busywork that likely set back the region’s progress by years.”

Labour was approached for comment.