It has been a while since we have been able to update you on the Petone to Grenada project so I wanted to make sure you were all up-to-date with what the project team has been up to. The Petone to Grenada Link Road will be a significant investment in the Wellington Region and we want to make sure that we invest the country’s money wisely, which is why we are taking on board feedback and working through the comments and suggestions received to improve our proposals. Since April this year when we held a number of open days and meetings, we have been working on a number of items, taking into account the feedback from our key stakeholders, landowners and consultees. Key items of feedback we received were: · General support for the proposed alignment of the road between Petone and Grenada · Concern about both Options C and D north of Tawa (and whether either is needed) · Suggestion that SH58 could be upgraded to achieve the same benefits as Petone to Grenada · Suggestion that we should be investing in public transport instead of a Petone to Grenada Link Road · Concern about the capacity of the proposed Tawa Interchange · Concern about impact on the Hunter’s Hill development area Since April we have been working on: · Alternative alignments in the Hunter’s Hill area (either to the west or east of the development area) · Improved Tawa interchange design. This has been tested with a new traffic model which indicates it will perform well · Improved Petone interchange design. Our modelling suggests a raised bridge with traffic signals will be the best option · Investigating potential links to Horokiwi Road · Updated transport model incorporating census and land use updates from Greater Wellington Regional Council · Testing tolling scenarios for the Link Road. · Liaising with the Chief Executives of the Territorial Authorities to agree a decision making process · Investigating variations to Options C and D to minimise impact on private property. · Investigating the future transport demand in the network considering possibilities such as public transport improvements · Working with the Petone to Ngauranga cycleway team to look at integrating the cycleway into the design for the Link Road · Investigating options for disposing of the surplus fill from the Petone to Grenada Link Road In response to public feedback, and a request from the Wellington Regional Transport Committee, we have been considering in more much detailed the proposed roading options network north of Tawa, including the timing and nature of any improvements. We are modelling a number of possibilities to make sure we have a good understanding of exactly what the impact of the Link Road on SH1 north of Tawa might be and when, before any final decisions are made. Our next step in the process is to complete our investigation work, particularly on the options to the north of Tawa. We will then discuss the results of the investigations with the territorial authorities (Wellington City, Hutt City, Porirua, Upper Hutt, Kapiti and also Greater Wellington Regional Council) in the New Year before discussing them further with the Wellington Regional Transport Committee. Following their feedback we will then make a final decision on the preferred option and communicate it to the public in mid 2015. I am sorry for the ongoing delay in this process. The interest in this project has been significant and we take all feedback very seriously. The ongoing delay is because we are trying to make sure that we explore all options fully. Once this decision is made, we will then finalise the finer details of the final scheme design. This means we should be able to confirm also how the Hunter’s Hill area will be affected, and exactly which properties are likely to be affected and how. At the present time we still plan to commence consenting at the end of 2015 and commence construction in 2019. I do appreciate that the delays in the process have been difficult for some, and particularly those of you who are potentially directly affected landowners. If there’s anything I can do to help during this difficult time, please do not hesitate to contact me. I and the project team are always available to talk with anyone who would like to hear from us directly. If so, please either contact me on the details below or call Linda Chamberlain on 0508 P2G INFO (O508 724 4636) or email [email protected]. Finally, we do upload all of our project reports to our website, and so there is a lot of information there: nzta.govt.nz/petone-grenada-link-road Jo Draper / Principal Transport Planner Transport Planning Team Highways and Network Operations DDI 64 4 894 5432 / M 64 21 2704516 E [email protected] / w nzta.govt.nz Wellington Regional Office / Level 9, PSIS House 20 Ballance Street, PO Box 5084, Lambton Quay, Wellington 6145, New Zealand
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 04:58:06 +0000
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