Now the Peka Peka to Ōtaki Expressway is open, the status of old SH1 as a state highway will be removed and responsibility for it transferred from NZTA to Kāpiti Coast District Council. As the road will officially become a local road, works are required to ensure it’s fit-for-purpose.
The Peka Peka to Ōtaki section of the Kāpiti Expressway is now completed. This means old State Highway 1 (SH1) in the area is no longer required to function as a state highway and will officially become a local road. Responsibility for ownership, maintenance and any future upgrades of that road will be transferred from Waka Kotahi to Kāpiti Coast District Council – this process is called ‘revocation’.
We’re undertaking works to the part of old SH1 that bypasses the expressway – from Makahuri in Te Horo to Taylors Road just north of Ōtaki –to ensure it meets the needs of a local road. This section of road is approximately 12km long. The 3km of road south of Marycrest to Te Kowhai Rd doesn’t require additional works.
To achieve this, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi and the council are working in partnership to deliver a fit-for-purpose local road that strengthens the district’s resilience and improves connections for all forms of transport.
Our team started work in late 2024 on the improvements for the southern section – from Makahuri to south of Ōtaki River Bridge. The work on this section will include:
This section of work is expected to continue through to mid-2025. Most work in this area will have minimal impact on residents, businesses, and road users.
In February 2025, we started work on the section from south of Ōtaki River through to Waerenga intersection. We’ll start work on the area between Waerenga Road to south of the Rahui Road roundabout in the first quarter of 2025.
Note that Kāpiti Coast District Council will also be undertaking separate works at Rahui Road roundabout in 2025.
The following benefits are expected from these corridor improvements:
|
Section |
Start |
Estimated completion date* |
|---|---|---|
|
Makahuri to south of Ōtaki River Bridge |
October 2024 |
June 2025 |
|
South of Ōtaki River Bridge to Waerenga Road intersection |
February 2025 |
August 2025 |
|
Waerenga Road intersection to south of Rahui Road roundabout |
March 2025 |
Early 2026 |
* Note that some of these works are weather dependent so dates are subject to change.
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Te Horo Beach Road intersection – artist's impression.
State highways are designed to carry a large number of vehicles as quickly and efficiently as possible. Local roads have different considerations - they run through residential, commercial, and recreational areas, and are used by a different type of traffic.
As we prepare for old State Highway 1 to officially become a local road, we’ve thought about what features it will need to have such as road layout, intersections, landscaping, street furniture and the needs within commercial areas.
What we have considered:
We’ve also considered the look and feel of the commercial areas within and around Ōtaki and Te Horo.
The public were asked to provide feedback on the concept and preliminary designs in 2019 and 2021. More information on the feedback we received which assisted with these designs can be found on our ‘Community engagement’ page.
