The Waitangirua Link Road will close for up to five months from 4 November. Photo: Google Maps
A link road on Wellington's Transmission Gully is being ripped up - just two years after it was opened.
Porirua City Council, Wellington Electricity, Wellington Water and Kāinga Ora are partnering up to carry out the "critical infrastructure" service upgrades on the Waitangirua Link Road and the adjoining Whitby link road, Te Ara Kāpehu.
The council said the work was to improve electricity network resilience and increase drinking water services for the fast-growing eastern suburbs.
Porirua City Council said the Waitangirua Link Road would be closing from 4 November.
Photo: Supplied / Porirua City Council
The council said the road will be closed for up to five months while new drinking water pipes were laid, along with cabling for electricity network upgrades.
While the road was closed, the council would also remove wilding pine trees, clear vegetation and install signage for the increased speed limit on the road - which was being raised to 60km/h as part of the Speed Management Plan.
After the Waitangirua Link Road reopened, work to lay pipes and cabling would begin on the adjoining Whitby link road, Te Ara Kāpehu.
The council said these works would take about two months and one lane was expected to remain open to traffic.
People on social media have ripped into the council over the roadworks - questioning why the infrastructure works were not done when the road was built.
But Porirua City Council general manager of infrastructure Mike Mendonça has said that was not an option two years ago, and nor was not opening the road at all.
He told Morning Report that ideally everything would have been done at the same time, but neither the water or electricity company were ready to run at that point.
"Of course, these have a long run up, these sorts of projects, and neither the consents, or the funding was available at that time" Mendonça said.
"It now is, and the truth is if we don't do this work now, we can't grow this part of the city."
He conceded the diversion to Whitby will be inconvenient for motorists, but is not a "showstopper", and said it should only add five to 10 minutes to their typical journey time.
Porirua mayor Anita Baker echoed Mendonça's comments that it wasn't possible for them to make infrastructure upgrades to the link road off Transmission Gully any sooner.
Anita Baker. Photo: RNZ / Reece Baker
Baker said they will get the work done as quickly as possible, but in the meantime, has asked road users to be patient.
The council said the scale and timing of a nearby residential development was not known at that time, and the new water reservoir - which the pipes will connect to - had not been planned.
Wellington Electricity acknowledged the inconvenience of the road closure, but is coordinating with Wellington Water to reduce time and costs, with plans to install new high-voltage cables to meet the growing demand of the new housing developments in the area.
Meanwhile, Kainga Ora also revealed their partnership with Porirua City Council, as well as Wellington Water and Wellington Electricity to deliver 2.4km of drinking water pipes.
"The new pipes will connect to a new, larger reservoir at the end of Stemhead Lane, Whitby, and will service residents living in eastern Porirua and Whitby" Eastern Porirua development director - Te Rā Nui - Will Pennington said.
Transmission Gully's problems have persisted since it opened in 2022.
Just over eight months after opening to motorists, the mega motorway closed several kilometres of lanes for resurfacing maintenance.
It has also been under scrutiny for its environmental impact with an investigation launched into its effect on native streams and fish - as well as concerns raised about a 'pest highway' after hundreds of pests were killed on its boundaries.
Meanwhile, the road remains technically unfinished with its wrap-up still being fought over in court.
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