Making our Hutt City more resilient, connected and vibrant

Haere mai, welcome to RiverLink Community Update – a catch up on what’s being done to deliver three separate but interdependent projects, worth an estimated $700 million in funding, that will transform Lower Hutt – Your river city.

RiverLink is a partnership between Hutt City Council, Greater Wellington, and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency working collaboratively with Taranaki Whānui ki te Upoko o te Ika and Ngāti Toa Rangatira to deliver flood protection, the revitalisation of Lower Hutt’s central city, and Melling transport improvements.

Have your say on the biggest project in Lower Hutt’s history

Send a submission by 5pm Wednesday 22 September by going to Have Your Say | Greater Wellington Regional Council – see below for more about how to do it and where to find it.

Submissions can be a few sentences (takes about 10 minutes) or longer (in which case you can attach a whole document) – it’s up to you. Just say what you think – whether you support the RiverLink application, oppose it, or your neutral about it (neither support nor oppose).

And it’s your choice whether you’d like to speak to your submission at a public hearing later on.

Tips on making a submission

KiwiRail

By the way, when you make a submission about RiverLink you’ll also be asked to tick some boxes to say whether you support/oppose or feel neutral about the KiwiRail Notice of Requirement (NOR) – that’s because the Melling transport improvements (required as part of RiverLink) are aligned with the KiwiRail application (for the purpose of relocating the Melling line to the south east of its existing location). For more about the KiwiRail NOR, view ‘Application documents’ at Have Your Say | Greater Wellington.

Writing a submission

If you’d like a bit of guidance on the process, and writing a submission, view the Ministry for the Environment’s Guide to Making Good Submissions:

- Go to the Ministry for the Environment website Ministry for the Environment – Manatū Mō Te Taiao
- Click on ‘publications’ near the bottom of the homepage
- Search for ‘Making a submission about a proposed plan or resource consent’
- Then download or open and read the document here.

Where to go and what to do

For information about the RiverLink project, and how to make a submission, go to the Greater Wellington website – Have Your Say | Greater Wellington

Go to: Greater Wellington Regional Council

Click on: Have Your Say - then Open consultations – scroll down the page until you see Partnership Projects, RiverLink Resource Consents & Notices of Requirement – click on View Project (you can read a brief overview about the project) – click on Submission form (it tells you what to do) – then click on Make a submission to sign in and register before actually making your submission.

Consent lodged – so what’s next?

After the consent process (submissions, hearing, the decision, etc). And assuming RiverLink gets the go-ahead, we move into the ‘design and construction’ phase (finding someone to do the work).

But right now…

The RiverLink project has being formally ‘notified’ which means the resource consent application for RiverLink have been lodged with Hutt City Council and Greater Wellington Regional Council (the Regulators) to jointly process. And submissions are being taken (closing 5pm, 22 September 2021).
Now’s the time for you to have your say on Lower Hutt’s most transformative infrastructure project in the history of the city.
All information is available at: Have Your Say | Greater Wellington.

A rich mana whenua narrative and history

Te Awa Kairangi | Hutt River is central to life for Māori in the Hutt Valley, with a rich whakapapa that’s ingrained in the hills, landscapes, waterways, harbour and the hearts and minds of all those who call this place their home.

Partnering with iwi mana whenua, Taranaki Whānui ki te Upoko o te Ika and Ngāti Toa Rangatira, RiverLink provides an opportunity to nurture and celebrate these relationships.

It also gives effect to our kaitiaki responsibilities and Te Mana o te Wai, and breathes life into Te Awa Kairangi – the tributary streams and mahinga kai of old as a source of vitality and sustenance for past, present and future generations.

Through RiverLink, the next generations living in Te Awa Kairangi will grow up with a deeper understanding and appreciation of our rich mana whenua narrative and history.

These opportunities are also part of a wider range of regional infrastructure projects across Lower Hutt. These include the shared cycle paths Ngā Ūranga ki Pito-One, Pito-One ki Maraenuku and Eastern Bays, all of which travel across pā sites and other places that are culturally significant to iwi mana whenua.

The RiverLink Story

We’ve made a three minute video (with captions, for those of us that have difficulty hearing). It’s called The RiverLink Story – a short korero about our Te Awa Kairangi | Hutt River, the RiverLink project (what we’re doing and why). You can watch it at riverlink.co.nz – just scroll down the homepage a bit and click on the arrow.

Future journeys through the new Melling Interchange

The new Melling Interchange will provide safer, more connected journeys travelling between Lower Hutt, the Western Hills and on State Highway 2.

One big change at Melling will be that through traffic on State Highway 2 will no longer be stopped at a set of traffic signals. Instead, traffic will be on different levels with State Highway traffic going under, and traffic wanting to access/exit to and from Lower Hutt and the Western Hills (Harbour View Road and Tirohanga Road) going over, using the north and south bound on and off ramps.

The interchange for the over traffic will be controlled and coordinated by two signalised intersections, unlike the nearby Dowse Interchange that uses a round-about control. This is safer for cyclists and pedestrians.

Travelling south on State Highway 2 heading into Wellington City, Lower Hutt or the Western Hills

Imagine you’re the white car in the middle of the picture above. If you’re on State Highway 2 and heading south into Wellington, you’ll no longer be delayed at the two sets of Melling Interchange and Tirohanga Road lights. You’ll be able to go straight through.

If you want to access Lower Hutt, and you’re going south on State Highway 2, you’ll use the new south-bound off-ramp on the left of the image above and turn left at the interchange traffic lights, then cross the new Melling Bridge.

If you want to access Pharazyn Street and the newly located Melling train station at the interchange traffic lights you will turn a slight left. If you want to get to the Western Hills, you’ll continue along the offramp again but turn right at the interchange traffic lights going over the new interchange bridge which goes over State Highway 2. To get to Harbour View Road, you’ll go straight ahead through the next set of traffic lights. To get access to Tirohanga Road you’ll turn right off Harbour View Road (where you can see the van on the right-hand side of the image above).

Gaining access to State Highway 2 from Lower Hutt, Pharazyn Street or Western Hills will be possible. Access to State Highway 2 will be via the north bound on-ramp at the far right of the image above (below the big retaining walls) and South bound on-ramp not shown in the image above.

If you’re approaching the new Melling Interchange heading north, the opposite applies. There are north bound off-ramps and south bound on-ramps to provide access/exit, to and from Lower Hutt, Pharazyn Street and Western Hills.

From Lower Hutt going north and south on State Highway 2

Heading north from Lower Hutt, using the new Melling Interchange: You’ll go over the new Melling Bridge which now connects from Queen Drive and Rutherford Street intersection, over the new interchange bridge, and turn right onto the new on-ramp. Going south you’ll head over the new Melling bridge, turn left onto State Highway 2.

FAQs and Q&As – You asked… we answered

Here’s some recent Q&As that’ll help to keep you in the loop about what’s happening with RiverLink.

You can view more FAQs here.

Riverlink.co.nz – what’s new?

We’ve added lots of new FAQs (under ‘Our plan’) and a great little video that gives a brief overview of what this project is about – it’s called The RiverLink Story, and it’s just three minutes long. You’ll find it on the homepage at riverlink.co.nz – just scroll down the page a bit.

More information

For more information on the RiverLink project visit our website www.riverlink.co.nz or send our team an email at riverlink@gw.govt.nz