Road leading to transmission gully closed to ‘critical’ work after just two years

Wellington’s Transmission Gully link road is being demolished – just two years after it opened.

Porirua City Council, Wellington Electricity, Wellington Water and Kāinga Ora are teaming up to undertake “critical infrastructure” service upgrades on Waitangirua Link Road and adjacent Whitby Link Road, Te Ara Kāpehu.

The council said the work aims to improve the resilience of the electricity grid and expand drinking water services for the fast-growing eastern suburbs.

Porirua City Council said the Waitangirua Link Road will be closed from November 4.

The council said the road will be closed for up to five months while new drinking water pipes are installed and cables installed to upgrade the electricity network.

While the road was closed, the council will also remove wild pine trees, clear vegetation and install signs indicating the increased speed limit on the road, which has been increased to 60km/h as part of the Speed ​​Management Plan.

Once the Waitangirua Link Road reopens, pipe and cable work will begin on the adjacent Whitby, Te Ara Kapehu road.

The council said the work will take around two months and one lane is expected to remain open to traffic.

People on social media have hit out at the council over the road works, questioning why the infrastructure work was not carried out when the road was built.

But Porirua City Council general manager of infrastructure Mike Mendonsa said the option was not considered two years ago and the road was not opened at all.

He told Morning Report that ideally everything would have been done at the same time, but neither the water company nor the electricity company were ready to go at the time.

“Of course, these projects had a long time frame, and at that time there was no agreement or funding,” Mendonça said.

“That’s the way it is now, and the truth is if we don’t do this work now, we won’t be able to develop this part of the city.”

He acknowledged the move to Whitby would be inconvenient for motorists but was not “indicative” and said it should only add five to 10 minutes to their typical journey time.

Porirua Mayor Anita Baker echoed Mendonsa’s comments that they would not be able to upgrade the link road infrastructure from Transmission Gully sooner.

Baker said they will get the job done as quickly as possible, but asked road users to be patient.

The council said the scale and timing of the nearby housing development was not known at the time and there were no plans to build a new reservoir to which the pipes would connect.

Wellington Electricity has acknowledged the inconvenience of the road closure but is coordinating with Wellington Water to reduce time and costs and plans to install new high voltage cables to meet growing demand from new housing developments in the area.

Meanwhile, Kainga Ora also announced its partnership with Porirua City Council, as well as Wellington Water and Wellington Electricity, to supply 2.4km of drinking water pipes.

“The new pipes will connect to a new, larger reservoir at the end of Stemhead Lane, Whitby, and will serve residents living in Porirua East and Whitby,” Porirua East Te Ra Nui development director Will Pennington said.

Transmission Gully’s problems have persisted since its opening in 2022.

Just over eight months after opening to motorists, the megahighway has closed several kilometers of lanes for resurfacing.

It has also come under scrutiny for its environmental impact, with an investigation launched into its impact on local streams and fish, and concerns raised about a “pest highway” after hundreds of pests were killed within its borders.

Meanwhile, the road remains technically unfinished, and its completion is still being considered in court.

rnz.co.nz