OIA 4132 Peter Ramage.pdf

50  Victoria Street
Private Bag 6995

Wellington 6141

New Zealand

T 64 4 894 5400
F 64 4 894 6100

www.nzta.govt.nz

26 September 2018

    OIA-4132

Peter Ramage
[FYI request #8571 email]

Dear Peter

Request made under the Official Information Act 1982

Thank you for your email of 29 August 2018 requesting the following information under the Official
Information  Act 1982 (the Act):

“the latest timeline for the completion of all components and work streams of the Wellington to
Hutt Valley cycleway, as well as all relevant documents describing the status of the project as of
today.

Please also provide al  relevant factors that have resulted in the failure to deliver the most recent
publicly available timeline  (from 2015), whereby the Petone - Mel ing and Ngauranga - Wellington
sections were to be complete by mid 2018, and the design and construction of the Petone -
Ngauranga section was to be underway.”

The NZ Transport Agency is partnering with Wellington City Council (WCC), Greater Wellington Regional
Council and Hutt  City Council to provide a safe and efficient 12km walking  and cycling route between
the Wellington CBD and Melling,  in Lower Hutt (W2HV). The W2HV will connect with existing walking
and cycling facilities located along the Petone Esplanade and the Hutt River Trail.

One document has been identified  as fal ing  within  the scope of your request – the detailed business
case for the Route. This is publicly available and can be found here:
www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/projects/wel ington-to-hutt-valley-walking-and-cycling-link/Part-A-
Detailed-Business-Case-Final-V8.pdf

In relation to the W2HV’s current timeline and the reasons for delays for each section of the project,
these are summarised below:

Wellington CBD to Ngauranga section - This section of the W2HV is being delivered  by the WCC.  It
runs from Bunny Street, along Thorndon Quay and Hutt Road, to the Ngauranga interchange. The
project has been divided into two parts - Hutt Road improvements and Thorndon Quay improvements.
The Hutt Road improvements are nearing completion, with the final stages of widening and upgrading
the pathway from the Aotea Quay Overbridge to Tinakori Road intersection due for completion in
September.

On Thorndon Quay, WCC is considering undertaking safety improvements. It has recently approved on-
road bike lanes for both sides of Thorndon Quay between Davis and Mulgrave Streets, which will
require parking changes. The Transport Agency understands that this work will be completed during

the current financial year. Further information about this section of the project can be found here:
www.transportprojects.org.nz

Ngauranga  to Petone (N2P) section - This section of the W2HV is being delivered  by the Transport
Agency, and will  comprise a shared walkway/cycleway  path running between  the Ngauranga
interchange and the Petone Overhead Bridge. The current preferred location for the W2HV is on the
seaward side of the Hutt Rail Line.

The Transport Agency is currently completing  final investigative work on the preferred location for the
W2HV, as well as working on the coastal reclamation designs needed to obtain the required resource
consents. At the same time, the Transport Agency is considering the impacts on the Hutt Rail line with
KiwiRail  to inform development of the preferred location for the W2HV.  We expect to finalise the
outstanding investigation works, including the coastal reclamation designs for the preferred W2HV,
within the next six months.

Due to the complexity of the consenting process, it is anticipated it will take up to 24 months to
complete. During this time, the Transport Agency will actively engage with stakeholders and the
community. Subject to the outcomes of the consenting process, the earliest construction start for this
section of the W2HV is likely to be 2021 (with a two to three year construction period).

The work on this section of the W2HV has taken  longer than expected  due to the time  needed  to ful y
consider the safety and resilience requirements of State Highway 2 (SH2) and the rail corridor, as well
as the environmental mitigation  needed for a walkway/cycleway  seaward path.

Petone  to Melling (P2M) section  - This section of the W2HV is being delivered by the Transport
Agency. It comprises an off-road cycle path  that would run parallel to SH2 from the Petone Station to
the Melling Station and will connect to Petone Station and the Hutt River Trail.

Detailed design of this section of the W2HV has been completed and consents approved; however,
construction of this section is on hold whilst we undertake further cost reviews of the W2HV. This
review is expected to be completed within six months.

If you would like to discuss this reply, please contact Michael Siazon, Senior Project Manager,  by email
to [email address].

Yours sincerely

Kevin Reid
Senior Manager, System Design