Transmission Gully contractors to open | WATCH - Property News AU/NZ | propertynoise.co.nz & propertynoise.com.au

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PHOTO: Transmission Gully. FILE

The Transport Agency has told Transmission Gully’s contractor, Wellington Gateway Partnership, it must open the Wellington highway within the next two weeks.

Porirua with Transmission Gully in the foreground. Photo: Supplied / Waka Kotahi / Mark Coote

It will be the sixth attempt at opening the 27-kilometre road.

The $1.25 billion dollar project has been beset with delays, including because of the Covid-19 pandemic and is almost two years past its original due date.

Wellington’s mayor Andy Foster was among local mayors welcoming the announcement, saying that the news, which has come on the heels of international border restrictions lifting, increases the economic confidence for the city.

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Earlier, Waka Kotahi cut back red tape for the builder CPB HEB by allowing it to defer completion of 19 safety and quality assurance tests, and dropped some requirements of a further 30 tests.

A final pre-opening safety inspection would still be required.

However, Waka Kotahi Transport Services general manager Brett Gliddon said despite pavement and road-surface tests still among the tests not met, based on expert advice they were confident the road was safe.

“We have not been prepared to compromise on the road’s safety, however all of the critical safety assurance tests have now been completed to a standard that gives us confidence the road will be a safe, reliable route for motorists between Wellington and the rest of the North Island.”

“Now that we have deferred these quality assurance requirements, we believe there is nothing substantial that can’t be finished by the end of March, which would prevent the road from opening. We have told Wellington Gateway Partnership (WGP) that we expect the road to be opened as soon as possible and that responsibility now sits with them.”

Under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) WGP is responsible for determining when the road can be opened.

Subsequent to the Covid-19 outbreak in August 2021, Waka Kotahi, WGP, CPB HEB and Ventia have been negotiating an early access arrangement, which would allow motorists to use the road before all of the road opening completion requirements set out in the contract have been met.

As agreement had not been able to be reached, Waka Kotahi has formally directed WGP to allow the public to use the road before the end of March 2022.

Waka Kotahi said it would not be announcing a specific opening time for the road, in order to prevent any queuing which could cause safety and congestion issues.