With the main closures of Wellington’s urban motorway now complete, Wellington’s smart motorway will be ready in two months reports the NZ Transport Agency.
Transport Agency Wellington highway manager Neil Walker says the weekend’s lane closures on State Highway 2 marked a significant project milestone.
“All of the smart motorway road-side equipment is now in place,” says Mr Walker. “We’re very grateful for drivers’ patience and co-operation to date. As we enter the last phase of the project, we’ll see a flurry of activity on the road as our contractors complete the finishing touches. We ask drivers to bear with us for just a bit longer while we get this done.”
The 16 month process of upgrading the central median barrier will be completed in mid-April; resealing of the northbound lanes between the Aotea on-ramp and Ngauranga will continue until the end of May; and a month’s work to reseal the southbound lanes from Ngauranga to the Thorndon overbridge begins this week. Most of this work will be carried out overnight to reduce disruption to road users.
The upgrade of the State Highway 2 Ngauranga off-ramp is progressing and is expected to be finished by the end of this month. The off-ramp will be closed for a few nights towards the end of April as it’s resealed.
“The next couple of months will be busy on the urban motorway but the result will be an off-ramp with more capacity and a smooth new road surface on the urban motorway that will last decades,” says Mr Walker.
“As always, we’re working hard to minimise the impact of our work and we apologise for any inconvenience. All capital and maintenance works are aimed at improving the safety and efficiency of our vital road network. So we’re especially looking forward to completing New Zealand’s first smart motorway right here in Wellington and bringing smoother, safer and more reliable journeys to peak hour traffic,” says Mr Walker.
Severe weather or other unforeseen circumstances could delay our work so keep checking our website and follow us on Facebook(external link) (NZ Transport Agency-Wellington) and Twitter (@nztawgtn) for updates.
This project is putting the smarts into Wellington’s urban motorway. The smart motorway will operate from Johnsonville and Petone to the Terrace Tunnel. Using variable speed limits, which will be adjusted in real time in response to changing traffic conditions, the smart motorway will pace vehicles to smooth the traffic flow. This will result in safer journeys with more predictable travel times. It will also free up nearby roads for better public transport trips and for pedestrian and cyclists. The smart motorway will begin operating in mid-2016.
More information is available from our website www.nzta.govt.nz/smartmotorway(external link) and from our smart info centre in the Johnsonville Mall.
