Heading home north after a long day at work will soon be less frustrating for tens of thousands of Wellington travellers.
Work is planned to free up traffic, freight and public transport through Wellington’s busiest transport corridor by making it New Zealand’s first fully managed motorway.
Late this year the Transport Agency will start work on the next phase of a major upgrade to State Highway 1 between Aotea Quay and Ngauranga. This work will help relieve some of Wellington’s worst evening peak congestion problems on both the highway and city road networks.
Wellington Highway Manager Rod James says the project combines two elements: replacing the shoulder with a new northbound lane, and a smart, modern approach to traffic management.
While northbound travellers on the motorway will enjoy an extra lane of capacity, it’s being done within the existing motorway’s footprint. Part of Wellington’s Northern Corridor Road of National Significance, this $50m project is focused on getting the most out of Wellington’s existing transport infrastructure. This will realise significant economic benefits by cutting down travel times.
“We’re going to free up traffic on the critical three-kilometre stretch of State Highway 1 between Ngauranga Gorge and Aotea Quay by turning it into New Zealand’s first fully-managed motorway.
“A fully-managed motorway uses electronic message signs that display varying speed limits and lane controls that will be fine-tuned to keep traffic moving smoothly during peak times. The system will be run by the Wellington Traffic Operations Centre in Johnsonville, a 24/7 facility that is jointly managed by the Transport Agency, Wellington City Council, Hutt City Council and Greater Wellington. Operators will monitor traffic flows and speed limits and adjust the environment to keep vehicles moving through the area much more quickly and efficiently.
“It’s a technique used successfully on high-volume roads around the world, and if drivers follow the lane control and speed limit signs, everyone will get to their destination faster.”
Mr James says that turning this section of State Highway 1 into a fully-managed motorway is all about getting the best use out of existing infrastructure.
“We don’t have to build a whole new road to make things work better at this location. Instead, we’ll be converting the road’s current shoulder headed northbound, to a fourth manage lane, with emergency stopping areas added in. This gives us extra capacity to free up traffic flows and get things moving—particularly in the afternoon peak times heading out of Wellington.”
Mr James says that freeing up congestion on this stretch of State Highway 1 will also benefit public transport options.
“Improving flows onto State Highway 1 at Aotea Quay will take traffic off the Hutt Road and free up space for faster, more reliable bus journeys out of Wellington. It’s another step towards creating a fully integrated, multi-modal transport network for the Wellington region.”
The project will also create economic benefits for freight and port activity.
“A more productive motorway means a more productive port. This will help to grow our economy by making the Capital more competitive as a commercial freight hub.”
The first part of this work will begin in the next couple of months and will be mainly off the highway, involving some ground testing and site set up. Construction should begin in earnest in late 2014.
“Towards the end of the year, crews will start removing the current signs, installing new ones and making changes to the central median barrier. And while this construction work will have a short-term impact on people’s journeys, the end result will be well worth it.
“We’ll let everyone know exactly what to expect and how to prepare their journeys well before construction gets underway.”
Travellers on Wellington’s transport network are already enjoying the benefits of work done on the earlier stages of the Ngauranga to Aotea Quay project, says Mr James.
“In 2011, we added an extra northbound lane and shortened the merge between State Highways 1 and 2 headed south. As a result, southbound morning peak travel times have gone down by 1.5 minutes from Ngauranga to Hobson Street and 2 minutes from Petone to Hobson Street. Northbound peak afternoon travel time from Hobson Street to Ngauranga has gone down by 2 minutes and 4 minutes from Hobson Street to Petone.
“In early 2013, we widened the State Highway 2 northbound on-ramp and improved its merge areas. Peak travel times have gone down 1.5 minutes between Ngauranga Gorge and the Weigh Station at the State Highway 2 on-ramp. And on State Highway 1, peak travel times have gone down by 2.5 minutes from Hobson Street to the Weigh Station.”
“Given that tens of thousands of motorists use the motorway every day, these time savings really add up to smoother traffic flows in and out of the capital, as well as significant economic benefits for the region.”
While the Ngauranga to Aotea St improvements will noticeably improve traffic flow, it’s just one piece of a wider integrated package of projects, policies and initiatives being pursued by Wellington’s transport partners to keep the Capital moving and growing. This ranges from unprecedented investment in new public transport infrastructure and services to new walking and cycling facilities, council parking policies and shared transport planning for the future.
For more information, please visit www.nzta.govt.nz/ngauranga-to-aotea-quay(external link)
For more information please contact:
Anthony Frith
Media Manager - Central Region
T: 04 894 5251
M: 021 27 213 7617
E: anthony.frith@nzta.govt.nz
