Project newsletter – December 2020

Kia ora

Kia ora and welcome to the latest update from the Transmission Gully team.

Tis the season for giving – so we have a bumper newsletter for you. A chance to reflect on the year that’s been and thank you for your continued interest in the project.

This time next year, the Transmission Gully motorway will be operating and people going away for the holidays will be able to plan on more reliable travel times on SH1 out of Wellington and onto the Kāpiti Coast.

But first, if you were one of the commuters caught up in traffic delays on SH1 near Paekākāriki recently we understand the frustration this created. We’re disappointed that the switch onto the new alignment didn’t go more smoothly, and that people experienced such long delays.

We did bed the new road surface in over a series of nights, but there is always some loose chip present for a period after chip seal is laid, which drivers naturally slowed down for. The new road layout, particularly southbound where SH1 merges from two lanes to one, also took a while to get used to. There are some things we could have done better – including clearer warnings to expect delays.

We explain more about why the traffic switch was necessary later on in this newsletter.

If you have any questions please contact us at info@tg.co.nz. If you have an urgent matter, please call the 24-hour project hotline on 0800 TGINFO. If we are working outside of our normal work hours and you’re one of our neighbours, we’ll be in touch with you directly as usual.

The Corten steel panels designed by Ngāti Toa artists, Nathan Te Rei, Ashleigh Sagar and Rākairoa Hori.

Linden art wall

If you’ve driven on SH1 near Linden recently, you may have noticed the art panels that now adorn two retaining walls just south of where the Transmission Gully motorway will connect with the existing SH1. The Corten steel panels have been designed by Ngāti Toa artists, Nathan Te Rei, Ashleigh Sagar and Rākairoa Hori.

Read more >

Watch the video to learn more about the names and the history behind the gifted names.

Ngāti Toa gifts names for key structures

We’re so grateful to our Iwi partners Ngāti Toa for gifting names to some of the key structures on the road. The names reflect the area traversed by the Transmission Gully motorway. Ngāti Toa Rangatira kaumātua Tā Matiu Rei says the names gifted by the iwi were chosen to recognise many of the original place names that were changed during colonial settlement.

Read more >

Watch the video to see how Transmission Gully looks now

Construction this year

Without doubt this has been an extraordinarily challenging year for the Transmission Gully Project. Closing down a 27km construction site at short notice, maintaining site safety and environmental controls for five weeks, and then planning a staged site remobilisation under restricted workplace rules, is not something any of us could have prepared for.

Read more >

The temporary asphalt plant to be operated near Mackays crossing

Temporary asphalt plant

They say the kitchen is the heart of the home – for the next five months the heart of the northern end of Transmission Gully will be the temporary asphalt plant at Mackays crossing.

The plant is like a busy commercial kitchen cooking up the ‘Structural Asphalt’ (also known as ‘Deep Lift’) needed to finish the road.

Read more >

The Kenepuru interchange – December 2020.

What to expect over the summer break

With only ten months to go till opening, our team will be continuing to work hard behind the hills (except for statutory holidays), but we don’t expect there to be works that will cause disruption for motorists.

Read more >

Two of our stores/plant team members, Hine Sollitt-Mackey and Fruen Samoa who helped us host Ngāti Toa on a recent site tour.

Meri Kirihimete me te Hape Nū Ia | Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Did you know that the Transmission Gully project is planting nearly 2.5 million native trees and plants, creating one of the most significant lowland native bush areas in the region? We’ll have more about that in our first newsletter next year.

But for now,

Meri Kirihimete me te Hape Nū Ia, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, from all of us on the Transmission Gully project.

Keeping you up to date

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We hope you enjoy reading these updates, and we’d love to hear from you. If you have any questions, comments or story suggestions, you can email them to info@tg.co.nz.

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More information

For more information on the Transmission Gully motorway project, contact us at 0800 TG INFO (0800 84 4636) or email us at info@tg.co.nz

Visit our website www.tg.co.nz