Regional council pauses stopbank upgrades

Friday, 18 October 2024

Greater Wellington started work upgrading central Lower Hutt's flood defences near Mills St in March. Work had now paused as everyone waits for Waka Kotahi to announce details of the long talked about Melling Interchange.

Work on stopbank defences in central Lower Hutt that were supposed to be integrated into RiverLink have been halted as the regional council waits for details of the planned Melling Interchange.

The Post reported on Thursday that despite a rapidly approaching construction date for the interchange on State Highway 2, there were still no details of the design and cost.

In July, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi said construction was expected to begin in February.

By integergrating building a new bridge above the Te Awa Kairangi/Hutt River into RiverLink it was hoped to bring down the cost.

RiverLink has always been sold as an integrated project that would allow Greater Wellington Regional Council, NZTA, Hutt City Council and KiwiRail to work together on the project that included a new interchange on State Highway 2, a new Melling Station and urban renewal in the central city. By working together, the agencies could get the work done quicker and more cheaply.

In March, Greater Wellington withdrew from the alliance running the project citing a lack of communication and the need to get on with the job of protecting central Lower Hutt from flooding.

Greater Wellington began working on flood defences and had since built temporary stopbanks near Mills St.

Resident Alison McCone said that work on the site had stopped and contractors had told her they would not be back until next September.

An artist’s impression of the revised design for the Melling Interchange released earlier this year.

The Post asked Greater Wellington if the work the regional council is doing had been impacted by the delay in a starting date and design for the Melling Interchange and new bridges.

In a carefully worded written statement, programme manager Wayne O’Donnell avoided answering the question directly.

“Like all programme partners, Greater Wellington is awaiting the completion of the programme design stage. This will enable us to plan and undertake other flood protection and river works we have committed to.”

Stage one of the project had largely been completed, although some parts of it are temporary, until high voltage power cables are moved, he said.

Stage two could not begin until the wires are moved some time next year.

In the meantime, Greater Wellington plans to place up to 1000m of rock at key points between the Melling and Kennedy Good bridges to protect the riverbanks.

NZTA Waka Kotahi refuses to release any details of the planned interchange and bridge, citing commercial sensitivity. It is working to a deadline of a planned start in early next year, for a project that once had a $700m budget but is now expected to be significantly more.

On Tuesday, Waka Kotahi issued a statement confirming previous statements that the interchange was still at the planning stage. Details about the design and cost would not be known until the planning process was completed.

The project has missed numerous deadlines since 2020 when the then Labour Government announced it.