This Road of National Significance project will create efficient and reliable journeys through Wellington City, supporting productivity gains and economic growth across the region. It includes improvements along SH1 including Mt Victoria and Terrace tunnels as well as upgrades to the Basin Reserve.
October 2024
This project has been identified in the Government Policy Statement on land transport (GPS 2024) as a Road of National Significance (RoNS), to unlock economic growth in the Wellington region.
The next stages of work, to investigate and design the project, have been included in the National Land Transport Programme 2024-2027. This page will be updated when more work has been completed.
This Road of National Significance project includes duplicate Mt Victoria and Terrace tunnels, as well as upgrades to the Basin Reserve. Together, these improvements will enhance the movement of people and goods across Wellington city, unlocking productivity gains and economic growth for the region as a whole.
State Highway 1 through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times, with forecast population growth across the region expected to increase travel demand further. Without improvements to this critical route, within 10 years the region could be looking at travel time increases of up to 50 percent into and around the city.
This package of improvements will result in significant travel time savings during peak periods, reducing future travel times from the Wellington region to the CBD, hospital, and airport by approximately 10 minutes. Travel time reliability to these key transport destinations will also improve by around 50-60 percent.
The changes to the Basin Reserve will support an improved North-South bus corridor – a key public transport route identified in the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Together, the changes will improve travel times and reliability across key public transport routes, provide greater resilience for the SH1 corridor and improve safety.
The project will now move through an investment case which is expected to be considered by the NZTA Board by mid-2025.
Improvements to State Highway 1 through central Wellington have been the subject of several studies, strategies and proposals in the past.
Most recently, work was carried out as part of the Let’s Get Wellington Moving partnership, which identified and developed options for a second Mt Victoria Tunnel and upgrades to the Basin Reserve, as part of a Business Case process.
In 2024, this project was then identified by the Government as a Road of National Significance, to be delivered by NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi.
Close2016 – Let’s Get Wellington Moving (LGWM) Partnership is formed to consider a city-wide transport plan including plans for improvements to SH1 from Ngauranga to the Airport.
2018 – LGWM Programme Business Case is finalised, including recommendation to upgrade the Basin Reserve and Mount Victoria Tunnel.
2021-2022 – Indicative Business Case is developed for the LGWM Transformational Programme which includes the Basin Reserve and Mt Victoria Tunnel upgrades. Detailed Business Case phase begins.
December 2023 – Ministers, Mayor of Wellington and Chair of Greater Wellington Regional Council agree to end the LGWM partnership structure.
April 2024 – At the request of the Minister of Transport, NZTA begin work to assess the feasibility of a Long Tunnel from north of the Terrace Tunnel to Kilbirnie as an alternative to improve efficiency and reliability of State Highway 1 through Wellington.
July 2024 – Project identified in the GPS as a Road of National Significance.
October 2024 – Project included in the draft Fast-Track Approvals Bill
October 2024 – NZTA Board endorsed the preferred option for the project, which includes a duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and an upgrade to the Basin Reserve, as well as a duplicate Terrace Tunnel. The next step is for an investment case to be prepared for the project which is due to be completed by mid-2025.
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