Wellington Inner City Bypass

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State Highway 1 NZ.svg

Wellington Inner City Bypass
State Highway 1
Wellington Inner City Bypass, Karo Drive.jpg
A view north along the bypass from the Pukeahu National War Memorial Park
Route information
Maintained by NZ Transport Agency
Length1 km (1 mi)
Existed2007–present
HistoryArras Tunnel completed in 2014
Major junctions
North endWillis Street
Wellington Urban Motorway
South end Basin Reserve
Sussex Street
Location
Primary
destinations		Mount Cook, Brooklyn, Te Aro, Wellington CBD
Highway system

The Wellington Inner City Bypass is a westbound one-way road varying from two to four lanes largely at ground level in central Wellington, New Zealand, part of State Highway 1, and was fully opened in March 2007.

Wellington Capital city of New Zealand

Wellington is the capital city and second most populous urban area of New Zealand, with 418,500 residents. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the major population centre of the southern North Island, and is the administrative centre of the Wellington Region, which also includes the Kapiti Coast and Wairarapa. Its latitude is 41°17′S, making it the world's southernmost capital of a sovereign state. Wellington features a temperate maritime climate, and is the world's windiest city by average wind speed.

New Zealand State Highway 1 road in New Zealand

State Highway 1 is the longest and most significant road in the New Zealand road network, running the length of both main islands. It appears on road maps as SH 1 and on road signs as a white number 1 on a red shield, but it has the official designations SH 1N in the North Island, SH 1S in the South Island.

Contents

The bypass extends north-west from the Basin Reserve through the Te Aro area of inner Wellington along Karo Drive to the Terrace Tunnel where it joins onto the Wellington Urban Motorway.

Basin Reserve sports ground in Wellington, New Zealand

The Basin Reserve is a cricket ground in Wellington, New Zealand, used for Test, first-class and one-day cricket. The Basin Reserve is the only cricket ground in New Zealand to have Historic Place status as it is the oldest test cricket ground in New Zealand. The ground has been used for events other than cricket, such as concerts, sports events and other social gatherings, but now it is mostly used for cricket, particularly Test matches. It is also the main home ground for Wellington Firebirds.

Te Aro inner-city suburb of Wellington, New Zealand

Te Aro is an inner-city suburb of Wellington, New Zealand. It comprises the southern part of the central business district including the majority of the city's entertainment district and covers the mostly flat area of city between The Terrace and Cambridge Terrace at the base of Mount Victoria.

Wellington Urban Motorway road in New Zealand

The Wellington Urban Motorway, part of SH 1, is the major road into and out of Wellington, New Zealand. It is 7 km long, ranges from three to seven lanes wide, and extends from the base of the Ngauranga Gorge into the Wellington CBD.

Original designs

A motorway bypass of the central city was proposed as early as 1963 in the De Leuw Cather Report, as an extension of the Wellington Urban Motorway (then known as the 'foothills motorway') in a trench along the approximate route of Karo Drive and Buckle Street, with overbridges at Cuba Street and Taranaki Street, and ending at a duplicated Mount Victoria Tunnel. Grade-separated intersections were to be provided at Taranaki Street, Tory Street, and the Basin Reserve. [1] However, this proposal was shelved by the National Roads Board due to financial cutbacks in 1974. [2]

Cuba Street, Wellington street in Wellington, New Zealand

Cuba Street is one of the most prominent streets in Wellington, New Zealand. The section between Dixon Street and Ghuznee Street is a pedestrian mall.

Mount Victoria Tunnel

The Mount Victoria Tunnel in the New Zealand capital city of Wellington is 623 metres long and 5 metres (16.4 ft) in height, connecting Hataitai to the centre of Wellington and the suburb of Mount Victoria, under the mount of the same name. It is part of State Highway 1.

A report published in 1980 proposed a scaled-down version of the foothills proposal, with an expressway trenched underneath Willis and Victoria Streets, cutting through Te Aro and severing Cuba Street. Due to the impact that this design would have had on the character of the city centre, it was not considered further. In 1994, the highway designation was extended from the Vivian Street and Ghuznee Street offramps to the airport, passing through the city centre through a one-way road system; this is the basic pattern that persists to this day. [1]

Willis Street Major street in Wellington, New Zealand

Willis Street is located at the heart of the central business district of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand.

Controversy

The final design, as a ground-level road with traffic lights, resulted in complaints from pedestrian and cyclist traffic about crossing the bypass. Other objections related to the need to shift or demolish heritage buildings, and many expressed concern that the road would irreparably damage the Bohemian culture and community of the area. In September 2001, after the announcement by Transit New Zealand that construction would begin, hundreds of Wellingtonians marched through the city in protest. [3]

Transit New Zealand, which existed from 1989 to 2008, was the New Zealand Crown entity responsible for operating and planning the New Zealand state highway network. It also concerned itself with developments close to state highways, as it considered the potential additional traffic that these would create, and it was responsible for state highway landscaping.

Those in favour of the bypass generally described removal of traffic from the city centre as the main benefit.

Construction and opening

The trenched section of the bypass is on the right. The Vivian Street offramp on the left was the northbound motorway onramp prior to the opening of the bypass. Karo Drive trench, Wellington.jpg
The trenched section of the bypass is on the right. The Vivian Street offramp on the left was the northbound motorway onramp prior to the opening of the bypass.

Construction of the bypass began in March 2005, with removal and movement of sixteen heritage buildings (including four heritage shops in upper Cuba Street). [4]

In December 2006, the new northbound route of State Highway 1 along the new Karo Drive trench was opened, followed by the opening of the new Vivian Street offramp in March 2007. Prior to the opening, a 'Walk the Bypass' event was held that raised $5000 for the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary. [5]

Arras Tunnel

The Arras Tunnel viewed from the south. Arras Tunnel, Wellington.jpg
The Arras Tunnel viewed from the south.

In September 2014, the bypass was moved into the new cut-and-cover Arras Tunnel between the Basin Reserve and Taranaki Street, removing the Tory Street intersection. The space above the tunnel was used for the Pukeahu National War Memorial Park, and the name of the tunnel was chosen to honour the efforts of the New Zealand Tunnelling Company in the French town of Arras during the First World War. [6] [7] The tunnel walls are decorated with 273 decorative poppies as a further memorial. [8]

During construction of the tunnel, two still-in-use historic sewers (including a brick sewer over a century old) were protected from damage. In addition, the foundations of the nearby Mount Cook Police Barracks were protected by a 90 metre long wall of steel piles. [8]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Wellington's Transport History" (PDF). Let's Get Wellington Moving. April 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  2. ↑ Tripe, David (28 August 1974). "The End of the Road to Nowhere". Salient. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington Students Association. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  3. ↑ O'Neil, Andrea (6 April 2015). "150 years of news: Protests against inner-city bypass exposed deep rift in Te Aro district heritage". The Dominion Post. Wellington: Fairfax New Zealand. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  4. ↑ "Issue 02" (PDF). Wellington Inner City Bypass Construction newsletter. Transit New Zealand. March 2005. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  5. ↑ "Issue 13" (PDF). Wellington Inner City Bypass Construction newsletter. Transit New Zealand. February 2007. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  6. ↑ "Arras Tunnel to open to traffic on Monday". NZ Transport Agency. 26 September 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  7. ↑ "Arras Tunnel". Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 19 October 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  8. 1 2 "The Building and Naming of Wellington's Arras Tunnel" (PDF). NZ Transport Agency. 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2018.

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