SH1 Wellington Improvements

19 March 2026

Here’s what we heard from community engagement

Thank you to everyone who took the time to provide feedback on the proposed design for SH1 Wellington Improvements during our community engagement at the end of last year. We’ve created a 4-page summary and a more detailed report on what we heard from the community, which you can download via the project’s community engagement webpage or directly here:

• Community engagement summary - 4 pages (1.6 MB)
• Community engagement report - 84 pages (1.3 MB)

Here are some high-level stats: 

• Community engagement ran from 17 November to 14 December 2025
• We held 6 drop-in information sessions
• Approximately 850 people attended the information sessions
• A total of 2,432 people and organisations from across the Wellington region shared feedback, including approximately 6,700 comments
• 85% of responses were from people living in Wellington and 15% from the wider region

As is expected on a significant project such as this one, the community feedback provides a wide range of perspectives - from those who see the proposed design as a long-overdue update that will improve traffic flow and future-proof the city, to those concerned about value for money and potential effects including noise, loss of green space and disruption.

All the feedback is valuable to the project team as we continue to refine the project design and develop potential options to mitigate any project effects ahead of lodging our Fast-track Approval Act (FTAA) application. It is helpful for us to understand the things people like about the proposed design. But it is just as important to understand the things people are concerned about.

The community feedback is now being considered alongside insights from our ongoing engagement with councils, our mana whenua partners, key stakeholder groups, and advice from a range of technical specialists.

Thanks again to everyone who shared feedback for us to consider. We’ll share an update on the proposed design as part of our FTAA consent application for the project (expected to be mid-2026).
 

Community information day at the Harbourside Markets, Sunday 23 November 2025

The second innings of hydrogeological investigations is underway

For 2 days last month, you may have noticed something different at Kilbirnie Park. The weather played ball for our hydrogeological investigations to be carried out in the park – the first “innings” of the project’s hydrogeological investigations.

The hydrogeological investigations are part of early investigation work for the project, to provide us with a better understanding of groundwater levels in the area and help inform the next stage of design.

At the northern end of Kilbirnie Park, outside the cricket pitch, a drill rig created 2 boreholes to collect water and soil samples and install groundwater monitoring pipework and logging equipment for ongoing hydrogeology data collection. The work went well, and the boreholes were reinstated to just below the grass level to avoid mowing equipment. Thanks to Wellington City Council for assisting us in the preparation for this investigation at the park.

The second innings of hydrogeological investigations was near the Basin Reserve earlier this month.

We carried out investigations in 2 locations – in the carpark of the Basin Reserve, and on the Old Buckle Street path near Sussex Street (pictured).

These Basin hydrogeological investigations were not caught behind by the weather and wrapped up on 11 March.

At both locations we drilled two boreholes, one to approximately 20m in depth and another to approximately 10m in depth. We took water and soil samples and installed groundwater monitoring pipework and logging equipment for ongoing hydrogeological data collection.

To close, we installed small "toby" covers (approximately 150mm in diameter) over the boreholes for access to the groundwater monitoring pipes and surrounded by reinstated asphalt at ground level approximately 500mm by 500mm in area. This gives you an idea of the small area we were working in at these investigation locations.

This Basin hydrogeological work is part of the early ground investigations for the SH1 Wellington Improvements project. For any queries, you can email our project email address below.
 

Hydrogeological investigations near the Basin, 10 March 2026

Town Belt (Hataitai Park) tracks reopen after Mt Victoria geotechnical investigations are complete

Our geotechnical investigations in the Hataitai Park area of the Wellington Town Belt are now complete. Drilling at the final borehole finished on Friday 20 February, marking the end of the works. Thank you for your patience and cooperation while we carried out these important investigations.

The works, involving drilling 5 geotechnical boreholes at 4 investigation locations, will provide us with a better understanding of the local ground conditions to inform the design of the second Mt Victoria Tunnel.

All tracks reopened Friday 20 February and the information signage and detour arrows have been taken down. This follows our site crew restoring each track to its original condition, and in some places making improvements for track users.

During these geotech investigations, some tracks were temporarily closed to ensure public safety while machinery and equipment were in use. We appreciate your understanding while these short-term track closures were in place.
 

Tracks reopen following geotechnical investigations, 20 February 2026

More information

For more information on the SH1 Wellington Improvements project, contact us at SH1WgtnImprovements@nzta.govt.nz

Visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz/sh1-wellington-improvements