From December 2024 Ventia will deliver the operations and maintenance (O&M) and undertake capital works required to complete Te Aranui o Te Rangihaeata – Transmission Gully motorway for NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA).
Transmission Gully forms part of SH1. It provides important regional resilience and a safe, modern, reliable route to and from Wellington. The motorway has been open to the public since March 2022 however, some construction related works are yet to be completed.
Ventia’s role under the previous Public Private Partnership was 24/7 operation of the constructed motorway, which included providing corridor and traffic management, incident response, and some maintenance works (eg median barrier repairs, etc.).
Under the new contract announced in early December 2024, Ventia will continue to provide these network operation services as well as delivering capital works for NZTA.
Ventia's services include asset management, proactive and preventative maintenance and inspections, traffic control, seismic monitoring and management, incident response, data collection and systems monitoring, and environmental management, as well as capital works services as directed by NZTA.
Ventia will continue to work closely with the Wellington Transport Alliance and Wellington Transport Operations Centre (WTOC).
Serious accidents will always involve emergency services.
It’s important to remember that the Transmission Gully motorway has been designed and built to be highly resilient and safety will continue to be paramount.
There are 22 closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras along Transmission Gully that are monitored by the Wellington Transport Operations Centre. The cameras in conjunction with the Transmission Gully radars are there to keep an eye on the motorway and its interchanges/intersections. If they detect anything that could affect traffic flow and safety of other road users (eg slow or stopped vehicles, crashes, irregular driver behaviour, debris on the road, etc.), WTOC will advise Ventia’s on-road Incident Response Service (IRS) who will attend if required.
Ventia’s dedicated IRS team are responsible for clearing incidents, maintaining traffic flow/reducing traffic congestion and reducing the risk of follow-on incidents.
If your car breaks down on Transmission Gully, the IRS team will respond and can arrange for it to be towed off the motorway. Where necessary, the IRS team will also move vehicles that are in an unsafe location, illegally stopped or blocking traffic.
The IRS team also assists emergency services (New Zealand Police, Fire and Emergency New Zealand and/or Wellington Free Ambulance) with the safe and timely management of serious incidents, including setting up signage and managing traffic flow around the scene. Once emergency services have left the scene, the IRS team will assist with clearing debris and re-opening lanes to get traffic moving again as quickly as possible.
To provide feedback on the IRS team, phone 0800 84 4636 (0800 TG INFO) or email:
info.tg@ventia.com
Transmission Gully uses an Intelligent Transport System (ITS) to provide accurate, real-time incident detection and prompt response. A key part of the ITS system are the radars that detect changes in the traffic flow along the motorway.
Radar systems of this type are widely used in Europe – but are new here. It is the first full coverage radar system to be used to monitor a motorway in New Zealand.
In addition to the radars, the ITS also uses visibility sensors, accelerometers for measuring seismic activity and CCTV cameras, among other devices to help Ventia operate the motorway safely, including a weather station at the highest point of the motorway at the Wainui Saddle.
Ventia will then direct their IRS team to where it is needed on the motorway, whether it’s for a breakdown or other incident.
Ventia provides long-term management of critical public and private assets and infrastructure and are proud to provide maintenance services to NZTA.
If you have any concerns or questions about the Transmission Gully motorway, phone 0800 844 636 (0800 TG INFO). You can also email:
info.tg@ventia.com
