Roads of national significance Wellington Northern corridor Mt Victoria Tunnel Duplication Issue 01 Keeping you connected Making changes that support a thriving Wellington is at the heart of the proposed improvements that the Mt Victoria Tunnel Duplication project will deliver for our transport network. Whether you re cycling, taking the bus, driving a vehicle or walking, our improvements will make your travel easier, safer and more efficient. This is important in connecting people with employment, education, services and recreation because the land transport system through the project area is critical to the quality of people s lives. The package of improvements proposed for the Mt Victoria Tunnel Duplication are part of the NZTA s support for, and funding of, wider transport requirements beyond roads. We are working together with Greater Wellington Regional Council and Wellington City Council to create a transport network that meets the different needs of all users. What we re proposing: A second Mt Victoria Tunnel for people travelling from the City Widening Ruahine Street and Wellington Road to provide additional traffic lanes in either direction and better connections to local roads and recreational facilities A new shared pedestrian and cycle path providing a continuous connection between the existing Cobham Drive facilities and new facilities on the Basin Bridge and National War Memorial Park. A key element of the project is enabling future public transport improvements signalled in the Public Transport Spine Study. Ultimately, the preferred option that is identified in the study will sit alongside the Mt Victoria Tunnel Duplication as a significant improvement to the strategic road network. We slowed down our work on the SH1 improvements to ensure the integral connection between these two pieces of work were progressed in closer harmony. The proposals outlined in this newsletter highlight our latest plans for the road network between Cobham Drive and Mt Victoria. It also demonstrates how these changes fit within a wider transport context, how it works from a local perspective and the timing of next steps. We first engaged with the community on our proposals for this part of the road network in mid 2011. We then summarised this feedback in a Community Engagement Summary Report that we published in March 2012 (www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/wellingtoninner-city/docs/community-engagement-report.pdf). Since receiving the community s feedback we have further refined our plans for a second tunnel and improvements to Ruahine Street and Wellington Road. These plans take into account the findings of the Public Transport Spine Study. Key changes to look out for in this newsletter include a reduction in the proposed width of Ruahine Street (subject to future decisions on the Public Transport Spine Study), and changes to the pedestrian/cycle access arrangements on Paterson Street. Our proposals represent a significant contribution to Wellington s transport infrastructure of walking, cycling, public transport and roading. When combined with other SH1 improvements in Wellington City, our transport infrastructure is getting a substantial boost of more than $800 million that will help to encourage economic growth and productivity in the City and the wider region. The Mt Victoria Tunnel Duplication is a key element in the Wellington Northern Corridor Road of National Significance programme and is the southernmost package of improvements that will create a gateway to Wellington and the rest of the North Island from the Capital. More information on the Wellington Northern Corridor can be found on our website at www.nzta.govt. nz/projects/wellington-northern-corridor/. NZ Transport Agency Page 1
Terrace Tunnel Transport outcomes Wellington s population and economy will keep growing. As it does, the amount of people travelling to do business, go to school, access healthcare, go to work or generally enjoy the City will also grow. This means we need to make changes to our transport network to meet the future we expect. Willis St Victoria St Webb St Ghuznee St Vivian St Wallace St Manners St Karo Dr Buckle St National War Memorial Tasman St Jervois Quay Taranaki St Rugby St Adelaide Rd Adelaide Rd Riddiford St Riddiford St Tory St Basin Reserve Te Papa Cable St Wakefield St Courtenay Pl Wellington Hospital Kent Tce and Cambridge Tce Hania St Wellington College Brougham St Ellice St Paterson St Newtown Constable St Mt Victoria Pirie St Austin St A BUS TUNNEL B Ruahine St Rd Waitoa Mt Victoria Tunnel Taurima St C Goa St Kilbirnie Cres Moxham Ave Wellington Rd D Oriental Parade Hamilton Rd Hataitai Evans Bay Parade Cobham Dr Oriental Bay To Wellington Airport Roseneath Evans Bay Evans Bay Parade Key A B C D Mt Victoria Tunnel Duplication Project Tunnel to Tunnel Project Existing key public transport routes Pedestrian/cycle facilities New shared pedestrian/cycle/slow vehicle lane National War Memorial Park Second Mt Victoria Tunnel page 4 Ruahine Street widening page 6 Ruahine Street and Wellington Road intersection improvements page 8 Wellington Road widening and intersection improvements page 8 A diagram of the key SH1 improvements proposed for inner-city Wellington. This also shows the key existing public transport routes. While the basis of the transport improvements between Cobham Drive and Mt Victoria focus on improving SH1, the overall outcomes will generate benefits for the wider transport system beyond just roads. It s about people, encouraging economic growth and productivity and ensuring that Wellington s future aspirations can be realised. In order to meet these outcomes we need to connect people to the things that matter to them and make Wellington an attractive place to live, visit and do business. Unless changes are made, increased traffic created by population growth and planned developments will progressively affect how SH1, and the surrounding local road transport network, will operate and connect people. This means SH1 needs to be made more efficient and offer more capacity to ensure public transport is more reliable and effective, walking and cycling is more appealing and travel to, from and through the city meets the needs of personal, business and freight traffic. These outcomes are part of the Wellington Regional Land Transport Strategy, and the Ngauranga to Airport Corridor Plan in particular, which seek to deliver a multi-modal approach to improving the City s transport network. One of the Corridor Plan s key goals is to create a transport system where public transport, walking and cycling take priority along certain key roads in Wellington City. To NZ Transport Agency Page 2 For more information, visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz
achieve this, the Corridor Plan identifies changes to SH1 to attract drivers away from our critical local roads, enabling them to be more efficient and effective for the City s public transport, walking and cycling networks, and allowing Wellington City Council to develop its growth plans. The Tunnel to Tunnel project of Buckle Street Underpass, Inner City Bypass Improvements and the Basin Bridge, plays a vital first step in achieving the goals of the Corridor Plan. It unclogs the key bottleneck problems at the Basin Reserve by separating north-south from east-west travel and improves the road network between the Mt Victoria and Terrace Tunnels. It is also vital in helping to improve traffic flow to and from the eastern suburbs, particularly for traffic heading to the City. If the issues at the Basin Reserve are not resolved, then city-bound traffic delays we experience today through the existing tunnel, along Ruahine Street and Wellington Road will get worse. The flow-on effect is that future public transport proposals will be stymied because traffic flow is stalled at the Basin Reserve s key intersections of Paterson/ Dufferin Streets as well as Dufferin Street/Adelaide Road. Current issues SH1 between Cobham Drive is currently operating at capacity, affecting how the wider transport network operates. Future traffic growth, as a result of the City s population, expanding employment and increasing intensification along the City s planned growth spine, will further exasperate current problems if nothing is done. At present city-bound traffic from the Airport (westbound) is hindered by how the SH1 network performs, particularly the operational capability of the traffic signals in Kilbirnie and around the Basin Reserve. Traffic heading to the Airport from the City (eastbound) is affected by the same traffic signals, as well as the merge at the City-end of the existing Mt Victoria Tunnel. These network capacity issues often result in traffic delays and congestion, which regularly occur at peak travelling times during the week and on weekends. These issues also mean travel times vary substantially, meaning a trip you take one day could be 10 minutes longer the next time. To combat this issue many people are using alternatives routes to SH1 (like Oriental Parade) to complete the trip between the eastern suburbs and the City (or beyond). In addition to these issues, this section of SH1 suffers from: A high crash rate, particularly at Wellington Road/Ruahine Street intersection Poor pedestrian and cycling facilities through the existing Mt Victoria Tunnel Poor pedestrian and cycling connectivity, particularly on Ruahine Street where access to and from Hataitai Park and the Town Belt is difficult Safety issues created by too many private properties accessing SH1. Some outcomes you can expect Reduced congestion, improved journey times and travel reliability on SH1 and key local roads For example, in 2031, with all our planned improvements for the section of SH1 between Wellington Airport and the Terrace Tunnel in place, you can expect travel time savings of between seven and 10 minutes compared with the do-minimum/nothing scenario. Without these improvements in place you can expect the same journey to take up to 30 minutes or more Fewer accidents, notably at key intersections such as the Wellington Road/Ruahine Street intersection Significantly improved pedestrian and cycling facilities. New links will be created between the National War Memorial Park (to be completed in 2015), the Basin Bridge and Cobham Drive. This link will include a new shared pedestrian/cycle path through the second tunnel and a new shared pedestrian/cycle/slow vehicle lane along Ruahine Street and Wellington Road Improved safety for pedestrians and cyclists on key local roads (such as Evans Bay Parade) as fewer general vehicles should be using these routes Improved pedestrian and cyclist access to and from Hataitai Park/Town Belt Improved transport connections will mean some businesses will find it easier, and more cost effective, to do business with others between the City and the eastern suburbs. This will help with economic growth and productivity in the City and the region A possible new green corridor that will link the Town Belt with Kilbirnie Park along Wellington Road. NZ Transport Agency Page 3
Duplicating the tunnel This area of the project relates to the second Mt Victoria Tunnel, and to the key changes on Paterson Street. Issues The existing 625m Mt Victoria Tunnel, built in 1931, carries nearly 40,000 vehicles (about 20,000 in either direction) every day along two narrow lanes. It is currently operating at or above its capacity, and as a consequence traffic delays and congestion occur, particularly at peak weekday and weekend periods. The traffic merge at the City-end of the tunnel for traffic heading towards the Airport is particularly problematic and pedestrians and cyclists have expressed concerns about comfort and safety when using the existing facilities through the tunnel. What we propose A second tunnel roughly 14m wide, 650m long, and located about 25m to the immediate north (towards the harbour) of the existing tunnel, and will be operated with a 50km/h speed limit The tunnel will cater for two eastbound (towards the Airport) traffic lanes with the existing tunnel upgraded for city-bound traffic use only A 3m wide pedestrian/cycle facility, located above the road, will physically separate pedestrians and cyclists from passing vehicles. This replaces the current tunnel s path, which will be removed once the new tunnel has been constructed The northern side of Paterson Street (the road leading up to Austin Street) will be widened to provide two lanes leading into the tunnel. The entrance to the tunnel will be located about 50m west of Austin Street A 3m wide pedestrian/cycle path will connect the tunnel pedestrian/cycle facility with the pedestrian/cycle paths on the Basin Bridge and through to the National War Memorial Park New emergency exits (cross passages) between the new and existing tunnel will be provided, which will also help improve the fire life safety standard of the existing tunnel. Changes from 2011 public consultation In response to our question in 2011 on the design of the pedestrian/cycle facilities in the second tunnel, most submitters told us that they preferred to be fully separated from road vehicles. As such, we are providing this separation. Concern was also raised about removing some of the houses on Paterson Street, so we are realigning the pedestrian/cycle facility from the new tunnel to avoid removing these houses. Proposed new road configuration Pedestrian/cycle facility New highway layout Possible location for relocated buildings An aerial view of the proposed changes on Paterson Street, including the location of a new Mt Victoria Tunnel western portal. Proposed Tunnel Existing Tunnel NZ Transport Agency Page 4 For more information, visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz/mt-vic-duplication
Taurima Street and the Hataitai link This area covers changes to Hataitai Village access to and from SH1, in particular changes at Taurima Street. Issues The existing exit from the tunnel to Hataitai Village works relatively well at present. However, the right-turn from Taurima Street on to SH1 is unsafe and causes congestion on the local road network at peak travelling times. What we propose Traffic coming out of the new tunnel will be able to turn left on to Taurima Street from SH1 to access Hataitai Village (as can be done today) There will be no right hand turn from Taurima Street on to SH1 for traffic heading to the city from Hataitai Village (as can be done today) The Taurima Street/Moxham Avenue intersection will be upgraded, which may include traffic signals with pedestrian phases The pedestrian/cycle path in the new tunnel will connect with a new shared pedestrian/cycle facility along Taurima Street A pedestrian overbridge (similar to the one that exists today) will safely connect pedestrians between Hataitai Village and Hataitai Park/Town Belt. Traffic that currently uses Taurima Street to head to the City will use the upgraded intersections at Goa/Ruahine Streets and Goa Street/Moxham Avenue. Proposed property access arrangements on Taurima Street (south side) will change with access now from Moxham Avenue. Changes from 2011 public consultation Some submitters were concerned about how pedestrians and cyclists would cross Taurima Street. We considered an overhead bridge over Taurima Street, but ruled it out because of its visual effects and high construction costs. Instead, pedestrian access is likely to be via the traffic signals that we are considering on Moxham Avenue. New road layout Pedestrian/cycle facility An aerial view of the proposed changes to the Taurima and Ruahine Street intersection. N TAURIMA ST MOXHAM AVE Pedestrian/cycle facilities A close-up view of the proposed intersection. NZ Transport Agency Page 5
Wellington Northern corridor Mt Victoria Tunnel Duplication Ruahine Street and the Town Belt link This section covers the key changes along Ruahine Street (SH1), particularly the changes at its intersection with Goa Street. New road layout Pedestrian/cycle and shared pedestrian/ cycle/slow vehicle lane New road layout Pedestrian/cycle and shared pedestrian/ cycle/slow vehicle lane NZ Transport Agency Page 6 An aerial view of the proposed changes along Ruahine Street, incuding the Goa Street intersection. The northern section is to the left. For more information, visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz
Issues Ruahine Street currently provides one lane of traffic in either direction and is regularly congested. A number of private driveways are accessed from the road, which create delays and safety issues. The Goa Street intersection is also regularly congested, particularly at weekends because it provides access to private properties, Hataitai Park and alternative access to Hataitai Village. Pedestrians and cyclists share limited space on a narrow footpath and there is no safe or controlled crossing for these users at the Goa Street intersection. What we propose The intersection of Goa/Ruahine Streets will be upgraded, and traffic signals installed with specific pedestrian crossing phases included Traffic heading towards the Airport on Ruahine Street will not be able to turn left into Goa Street, while traffic heading towards the City will not be able to turn right into Goa Street The intersection of Goa Street/Moxham Avenue will be upgraded and may include traffic signals A 4m wide shared pedestrian/cycle/slow vehicle lane will be provided separately on the Hataitai Village (eastern) side of Ruahine Street, providing access to properties as well as accommodating pedestrians/cyclists. Changes from 2011 public consultation Some submitters were concerned about the impact on the Town Belt, so a key change has been to reduce the footprint size of Ruahine Street, and the Goa Street/Ruahine Street intersection in particular. This means we will need less land from the Town Belt than we first thought. It also means that Badminton Hall will now be only partially affected, and could be retained in its current location. N HATAITAI PARK MOXHAM AVE GOA ST Shared pedestrian/cycle/ slow vehicle lane The proposed Goa/Ruahine Street/Hataitai Park intersection creates better connectivity to and from the Town Belt. NZ Transport Agency Page 7
Wellington Road and a new Wellington southern gateway This section covers the area of Wellington Road (SH1) from the intersection with Ruahine Street through to its connection to Cobham Drive. It also includes the key intersections of Wellington Road with Ruahine Street, Kilbirnie Crescent and Evans Bay Parade and how this package of proposals combines to create a new, landscaped southern gateway to the city. Issues This part of the highway is heavily congested and safety is an issue. A key problem is the capacity of the intersections due to the number of vehicles using them at peak travelling times. Safety on the corner of Ruahine Street and Wellington Road is a concern as this intersection has a high crash record. While changes have been made to improve safety, issues remain because of the sharp corner and the variety of different vehicle movements that this intersection needs to allow for (for example, the right hand turn from the (local) Wellington Road onto SH1 to head to the Airport can be difficult at peak travelling times). Access to private properties along Wellington Road and connections from side roads like Moxham Avenue and Walmer Street also create issues. This is particularly evident when vehicles are turning right either to or from Wellington Road as there s limited visibility and space to enter or leave the highway. For cyclists, there s no dedicated path along Wellington Road and therefore no direct connection for both pedestrians and cyclists to access the shared facilities on Cobham Drive. What we propose Wellington Road will be widened to six lanes with a 50km/h speed limit and the Wellington Road/Ruahine Street intersection will be upgraded to include traffic signals, allowing for all turning movements A 6m wide shared service lane will be provided on the northern side of Wellington Road, which will close the Moxham Avenue and Walmer Street intersections with SH1 Properties along the northern side of Wellington Road and along Walmer Street will be accessed from the shared pedestrian/ cycle/slow vehicle lane Creating a green link link between the Town Belt and Kilbirne Park after the properties on the eastern (Kilbirnie) side of Wellington Road have been removed. Changes from 2011 public consultation Some submitters were concerned about the impact on the Town Belt, so a key change has been to reduce the footprint size of Ruahine Street, and the Wellington Road/Ruahine Street intersection in particular. This will mean we will need less land from the Town Belt than we first thought and the look of the cut into the hill near Badminton Hall will be reduced. New road layout Pedestrian/cycle and shared pedestrian/ cycle/slow vehicle lane An aerial view of the proposed changes along Wellington Road, including the three intersections of Ruahine Street, Kilbirnie Crescent and Evans Bay Parade. NZ Transport Agency Page 8 For more information, visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz
RUAHINE ST N Pedestrian/cycle facilities WELLINGTON RD (EAST END) A close-up view of the proposed Wellington Road/Ruahine Street corner which caters for all turning movements. An artists impression of a future Wellington Road once the improvements have been made. Plans for the Wellington Road "green link" between Kilbirnie Crescent and Ruahine Street are still to be finalised. New road layout Shared pedestrian/ cycle/slow vehicle lane only on the north side of Wellington Road NZ Transport Agency Page 9
Wellington Road and a new Wellington southern gateway WALMER ST N HAMILTON RD WELLINGTON RD Pedestrian/cycle facilities Shared pedestrian/cycle/ slow vehicle lane KILBIRNIE CRES KILBIRNIE PARK The proposed Wellington Road/Kilbirnie Crescent intersection catering for all turning movements. N EVANS BAY PDE WELLINGTON RD COBHAM DR Pedestrian/cycle facilities Shared pedestrian/cycle/ slow vehicle lane EVANS BAY PDE The Wellington Road/Evans Bay Parade intersection catering for all turning movements. NZ Transport Agency Page 10 For more information, visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz/mt-vic-duplication
The shared lane walking, cycling and private property access Walking and cycling Facilities for pedestrians and cyclists will be improved significantly following our improvements. A dedicated pedestrian and cycle path through the tunnel will replace the existing 1.5m facility, while a shared pedestrian/ cycle/slow vehicle lane will be provided along Ruahine Street and Wellington Road. The improvements outlined in this newsletter combined with our Tunnel to Tunnel improvements will create a continuous and safe walking and cycling link between the National War Memorial Park and the Basin Bridge, through to Cobham Drive. Along Ruahine Street the form of the shared path changes to accommodate private, but slow, vehicle access. The path is generally narrower where it provides travel for pedestrians and cyclists only and wider where it becomes a shared pedestrian/ cycle and slow vehicle lane for private access. At its narrowest, the path is roughly 4m wide along Ruahine Street, while along Wellington Road a 6m wide pedestrian/cycle/slow vehicle lane has been allowed for. We believe the new facilities are likely to encourage more people to walk or cycle in the area or through to the city. Some of our work suggests there could be as many as 500 new pedestrians and over 600 new cyclists or more once the SH1 improvements are in place. This directly supports our goal of improving the City s overall transport network. Property access changes Property access changes relate to properties adjacent to SH1, specifically on Ruahine, Goa and Walmer Streets and Wellington Road. These properties will no longer have direct access to the road network. Instead access will be via the shared pedestrian/cycle/slow vehicle lane or alternative access arrangements. Public Transport The existing public transport corridor will remain through the existing Mt Victoria bus tunnel and along Moxham Avenue, Hamilton Road and Kilbirnie Crescent. We will continue to work with both Greater Wellington Regional Council and Wellington City Council on the future plans for public transport as identified in the Public Transport Spine Study. An artists impression of what Ruahine Street could look like in future. The shared pedestrian/cycle/ slow vehicle lane is to the left. The design details of this lane are still to be finalised. NZ Transport Agency Page 11
What happens next? We are talking with people and businesses whose properties will be directly affected by the plans outlined in this newsletter. These discussions are a priority for us. Now that we are clear about our plans, our next step is to start preparing an Assessment of Environmental Effects (AEE) document in order to support the RMA approvals required for the improvements, which we are likely to seek next year. Some of the key areas we will be looking at developing further as part of the AEE include: More work to understand how the construction and operation of the final improvements will effect the environment (eg noise, vibration and air quality effects) Developing measures that will help to mitigate the potential environmental effects of the proposed improvements (eg key areas to landscape, noise reduction measures and soil removal) Refining the design of the pedestrian/cycle facility through the tunnel Refining the design of the shared pedestrian/ cycle/slow vehicle lane along Ruahine Street and Wellington Road Refining the design of the proposed green link" along Wellington Road. We will also be looking closely at the possible environmental effects of adding two additional lanes on Ruahine Street for public transport as signalled in the Public Transport Spine Study. We already have a head start on understanding the likely environmental effects of this given our previous work on the widening of Ruahine Street. In preparing the AEE, we want to get your feedback, particularly how we should manage and/or mitigate the potential effects on the environment. We plan to engage with you on ways to mitigate such effects later in the year. Following this engagement, and the further work as outlined above, we will finalise the AEE and our RMA applications for our proposals. We will then seek RMA approval via the national consenting process in late 2014. Indicative project timelines 2013 to mid 2014 Prepare AEE and RMA applications Mid to late 2014 Late 2014/15 Seek RMA approvals for the SH1 improvements via the national consenting process National consenting process (depending on the Minister for the Environment s decisions) 2016 Detail design commences 2018 2022 Construction Update on other projects Basin Bridge: The RMA applications for the Basin Bridge have now been lodged with the Environmental Protection Authority. The next stage is for the Minister for the Environment to decide whether the project is of national significance and which consent authority should consider the applications (such as a Board of Inquiry). The Minister will announce her decision later in the year. We then expect public notification and hearing processes to follow, which includes the public being able to make submissions on the RMA applications for the project. For more information on the Basin Bridge RMA applications please visit www.nzta.govt.nz/ projects/basin-bridge-application/. Buckle Street Underpass: Work on the underpass is progressing with passers-by able to see the trench for the underpass and road rapidly taking shape. Further vital work to relocate underground service pipes is continuing with minimal disruption to traffic. Terrace Tunnel Investigations: Investigations into how we can ease citybound congestion at the Terrace Tunnel have begun. This will consider a range of options, including a duplicate Terrace Tunnel. Contact us Website: wwww.nzta.govt.nz/mt-vic-duplication Email: mtvicinfo@nzta.govt.nz Freephone: 0508 688 428 (0508 MT VICT) Freepost: Mt Victoria Tunnel Duplication Project Team Freepost 225938 PO Box 5084 Thorndon Wellington 6145 NZ Transport Agency Page 12