The Transport Agency has backed off a contentious proposal to put a motorway through a scenic valley north of Wellington.
The agency has been considering options for the Petone to Grenada Link Road, but ran into opposition from residents of the Takapu Valley, who feared losing paddocks and property to the proposed motorway.
But the agency's regional director central, Raewyn Bleakley, says it will instead focus on managing the growth of traffic within the existing corridor, and the valley will be untouched.
The project will cost up to $270 million, with the proposed route providing a four-lane road between Petone and Tawa.