Machinery moves on site for New Zealand’s Kapiti Coast expressway

Onsite work has started in the Kapiti Coast region on the Otaki-Peka Peka Expressway, part of the greater Wellington Northern Corridor project.

Simon Bridges, New Zealand’s transport minister, recently turned the first sod on the US$175 million project. Travel times should be improved between Port of Wellington, hospitals, Wellington’s central business district and ferry terminals.

The 110km Wellington Northern Corridor largely follows the current state highway route from the airport to Linden, near Tawa. From Tawa new roads will progressively be constructed to provide an expressway-style journey to north of Levin. The corridor is made up of eight different sections and will provide for at least two lanes of traffic in either direction divided by a central barrier.

The Wellington Northern Corridor from Levin to Wellington Airport is one of the seven Roads of National Significance. Roads of National Significance are essential state highways that the Government has identified because they require upgrading. The new SH1 route will be a mixture of new divided four-lane highway sections and improvements to the existing network.

The corridor’s sections are Mount Victoria Tunnel duplication, tunnel-to tunnel inner-city transport improvements, Terrace Tunnel duplication, Smart Motorway, Transmission Gully, Mackays to Peka Peka, Peka Peka to Otaki Expressway and finally Otaki to north of Levin.