Kia ora

Welcome to the latest update from the State Highway 58 Safety Improvements team.

Since our last update in September we have made significant progress on both Stage 1, which runs between the SH2 Haywards Interchange and Mt Cecil Road, and Stage 2a, which runs from Mt Cecil Road to Harris Road.

With funding confirmed from the NZ Upgrade Programme earlier this year for the final Stage 2b safety improvements (Harris Road to Transmission Gully interchange, Pāuatahanui), our team are now finalising the design and programme of works. Construction is programmed to start in 2023, with completion in 2026. We’ll share the final design with you as soon as we have confirmed details.

Road surfacing – looking east towards the Hutt Valley

Progress on Stage 1 (Haywards Interchange to Mt Cecil Road)

Over September and October, we began installing the final asphalt layer on the downhill section towards the SH2 interchange.

To provide long-term strength, the road is made up of a number of layers, with each layer having a different purpose. As part of the overall safety improvement design, the top layer of asphalt has a specific textured finish to provide better grip.

Drone image showing the culvert excavation looking back down the slope

Our team has also finished installing a large new culvert underneath the road, just below Hugh Duncan Street, which was a considerable challenge.

While preparing for the work our team discovered a significant clash with high voltage infrastructure, so we had to come up with some innovative techniques to do this work safely. It may be hard to tell if you’re just passing by, but this has been quite an engineering feat as the pictures below show. 

Now that the pipe is fully installed under the road, we can complete the surfacing all the way to the SH2 interchange and finish the road marking for the right turn bay and entrance to Hugh Duncan Street.

Drone image showing the excavation. The angle of the box in the lower right corner shows how steep the slope is below road level

We have completed most of the landscaping alongside Stage 1, and the street lighting and cameras are installed and commissioned. We are nearing completion of this section and expect to be able to open this stage before the end of the year.

Progress on Stage 2a (Mt Cecil Road to Harris Road)

With the improved weather over the last couple of months, we have made good progress on the surfacing on Stage 2a - the short section between Mount Cecil Road and Harris Road.

Like Stage 1, this section of road is made up of several layers of different materials with different purposes, and we are now up to the chipseal layer.

More information

For more information on the SH58 improvements project, contact us at sh58safety@nzta.govt.nz

Visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz/sh58-improvements