Finally, a start date for Melling Interchange

Friday, 12 July 2024

An artist’s impression of the design for the Melling Interchange. Work is set to begin in early 2025 for a project that has been talked about for decades.

Finally, after nearly two decades, there is a start date for RiverLink, a project touted as transformational for Hutt City.

The start date, expected to be February, was welcomed by both the local MP, the Minister of Infrastructure Chris Bishop, and Mayor Campbell Barry.

Bishop said it was pleasing to finally see some progress.

“I am now looking forward to work starting on this crucial project for the Hutt Valley.”

Barry was “cautiously optimistic” that construction would start early next year, but said previous starting dates had come and gone.

Details about the final design and costing remain unclear.

RiverLink includes an interchange at Melling, two new bridges over Hutt/Te Awa Kairangi River, upgrading river defences and relocating the Melling train station, as well as urban renewal to support apartments in the central city.

Speaking on Thursday, both said the project was important to the future of the city and were keen to see work begin as soon as possible.

After The Post spoke to the pair, the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi emailed a statement from regional manager Kesh Keshaboina.

A new bridge and interchange is planned for Melling.

He said work was still under way on the final design, construction methods and costing.

“This will conclude in December 2024, with the signing of the Project Alliance Agreement (PAA) to follow. We expect construction to begin in early 2025.”

Michael Flyger, the communications and engagement lead, told The Post that it was incorrect to say the project, which was first announced in 2020, had stalled.

“The project is not ‘stalled’ – together with the delivery partners, we are currently working to refine the design, planning and value for money, which is normal practice …“

Buildings in Pharazyn Street have been removed to make way for upgraded stopbanks.

Flyger said work on the design would continue until the end of the year.

“The Project Alliance Agreement will then be signed, with construction scheduled to begin in early 2025.”

Bishop said the project was a complex one, involving many agencies, and it was no surprise that it had been delayed.

he budget of $700 million, set in 2020, had always been unrealistic, he said.

Hutt South MP Chris Bishop cuts the ribbon to open the Little Footprints childcare centre, which was forced to close due to RiverLink.

“That was not based on an accurate or realistic cost basis … they (the Labour Government) took a back of the envelope approach … they just hoped for the best.”

Bishop put much of the blame on the previous government but noted the current Government had made the Melling interchange a road of national significance and he was committed to seeing it built. Not only would it future proof the city against major storms, it would also improve travel on State Highway 2.

Bishop said that despite all the delays, there had never been any doubts over its future.

Both the regional and Hutt City councils are now likely to switch their focus to making sure a second bridge connecting the relocated Melling train station will proceed.

Both councils argued the bridge was an essential part of the project and one of the reasons they had first supported it.

Not only would it take traffic off SH2, it would reduce travel time from the central Hutt to Wellington for commuters and cyclists.

Flyger’s email raised doubts as to who would pay for it.

“Hutt City Council is working to deliver the city link pedestrian bridge that links the railway station with the city centre, and will deliver improvements to local roads and streetscapes.”

Barry said any suggestion that the total cost would fall on Hutt City was wrong.

It had always been included in the project on the understanding that it would receive a 50% subsidy from Waka Kotahi.

It made no sense to relocate the station without building a bridge accessing central Hutt and he said his council remained committed to seeing it built.

Bishop was at the Lower Hutt Little Footprints centre to open their new facility, which was forced to relocate due to new stopbanks being built near Melling.

Although the project is known as RiverLink, it also has a Māori name. Mana whenua had gifted a cultural narrative and name, Te Wai Takamori o Te Awa Kairangi (The Soothing Waters of Te Awa Kairangi). Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika and Ngāti Toa Rangatira had ancestral links to this area and were central to the project.