Fast track for new $42m interchange

Friday, 13 March 2015

An artist's impression of what the new $42 million Haywards Interchange will look like.

Relief is at hand for motorway drivers sick of waiting at traffic lights as they travel between Wellington and Upper Hutt.

A new $42 million interchange for the intersection of State Highway 2 and SH58 at the bottom of Haywards Hill is on the verge of being fast-tracked so construction can begin before the middle of the year.

An aerial perspective of the proposed $42 million Haywards Interchange.

The project will see an elevated roundabout structure, similar to the Dowse interchange, along with a new 'park and ride' car park for Manor Park railway station and a pedestrian bridge linking the two.

Manor Park Rd, McDougal Grove and Hebden Cres will also be realigned to improve access.

The Haywards interchange was in the mix to receive taxpayer funding at some point before 2022. But affected councils were asked recently to alter their existing transport plans so $5.3m of construction funding could be spent in the 2014-15 financial year.

The regional transport committee, on which all the region's mayors sit, endorsed the project on Monday, while Greater Wellington Regional Council will be asked to do the same on Tuesday.

All that remains after that is for the New Zealand Transport Agency to confirm funding. But its staff have advised that funding has become available from elsewhere in the country and the project is 'construction ready'.

Rod James, NZTA's Wellington highways manager, said that, although the project had been designed and consented, the agency would be working closely with local councils on the final form and programme of works.

The main benefit of the interchange is that it will remove the SH2-SH58 intersection, meaning traffic using both highways will no longer have to give way to each other.

The intersection has become notorious for generating large queues of traffic, particularly during peak times. Between 2009 and 2013 it was also the site of 119 crashes.

Six properties will be affected by construction. Five are already owned by the Transport Agency, while the sixth is owned by KiwiRail.

The interchange was consulted on as part of the Hutt Corridor Plan in 2011. It received a high level of public support, particularly in relation to safer access to the Manor Park area.

The community also expressed its desire for the project last year during the Transport Agency's public consultation on its $32m upgrade of SH58.

A report due to be tabled at Tuesday's regional council meeting says any more public consultation could get in the way of funding being confirmed, which could delay the project by several years.

The regional council will also be asked at that meeting to approve the fast-tracking of 2.1km of roadside guardrail for SH2 on the Wairarapa side of the Rimutaka hill, at a cost of $1.3m.