Transport minister ‘open to doing another study’ on Remutaka alternative

Friday, 31 October 2025

Recent closures of SH2 over the Remutaka Hill Road have reignited calls for an investigation into alternative options. (File photo)

The Government is “open to doing another study“ into alternatives to the SH2 route over the Remutaka Hill Rd, Wairarapa community leaders have been told.

The topic was raised at a recent informal meeting of Transport Minister Chris Bishop and Wairarapa’s new councils.

“We had a really free-flowing discussion and it was really good to get the feedback. That [access issue] got raised a couple of times, and I'm open to doing another study,” Bishop said.

Local groups have consistently advocated for a more resilient route to Wellington than the hill route that was susceptible to closure.

The minister said any solution such as a road tunnel would have to make economic sense.

“I am pretty cautious about it. It would be extremely expensive.

“We've got big roading plans around the country and a big bow wave of investment coming, but a tunnel through the Remutakas would be pretty pricey.”

Newly elected Carterton councillor and the man behind the Remutaka Road Action Group, Simon Casey, said a new study would be welcome, but should not be limited to exploring the viability of a new tunnel.

“I put the whole thing to him about the risks we face with resilience, lack of productivity and safety.”

The Remutaka Road Action Group is campaigning for two things: an investigation into a new alternate highway over the Remutaka Hill and having the road included in the Government's list of Roads of National Significance.

“We're asking for an independent study to be done on the productivity improvements that would come to the Wairarapa with a modern alternate highway route.”

Casey said the group was “delighted” the minister was interested in exploring options with a new investigation.

The Remutaka Road Action Group has suggested four routes that a new tollway could take over the mountain range between Upper Hutt and Featherston.

“The studies that have been done in the past have been quite narrow in terms of what are the benefits directly to transport, but if you look at the wider region, there's huge numbers of productivity improvements that could be gained.”

He said the unreliability of the current SH2 route was impacting investment in the region and he anticipated a study would favour a new road over the ranges as opposed to a road tunnel.

“Tunnels are not what we've recommended. We've got four other options that don't require a tunnel and they are cheaper and they have not been considered, so it's really quite open and I think we'll get a pleasant surprise if the study is done.”

The Transport Minister was in Wairarapa last week. From left to right: Wairarapa Times-Age editor Piers Fuller, Minister Chris Bishop and Wairarapa MP Mike Butterick.

Roads of National Significance were roads listed in the National Land Transport Plan (NLTP) that have been prioritised for improvement, “to support economic growth and productivity, reduce congestion, improve safety and resilience, and support housing development”.

To get included in the NLTP, it needs to first be included in the Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP). The RLTP set the direction for transport in the region for the next 10-30 years and was updated every three years. The Action Group said only maintenance of the existing Remutaka route was referenced in the current RLTP and an investigation into a new route must get included in the next update to get it on the radar.

Bishop said the expected improvements in the rail link to Wellington would help when track upgrades were complete and the new trains commissioned.

“We have made a big investment in improving the trains.

“It's a critical connector for this region into Wellington and getting that reliability up will drive patronage growth which is important.”