Kia ora

We hope you’re enjoying the start of autumn. It’s still a busy time of year for our highway maintenance teams across the country who are making the most of the good weather, before the days get cooler and shorter!

In this project update we look at upcoming works, our commitment to the environment, and a very special dawn blessing to mark the start of State Highway 58 Stage 2.

Read on to find out more.

Construction crew working at night

Construction update

The last few months of warm weather and longer daylight hours have allowed the project team to make good progress on State Highway 58 safety improvements.

From Haywards interchange to the crest of the hill at Mount Cecil, the road has been widened and the tight corners and cambers evened out for a safer, smoother journey. Work has started to prepare the area for street lighting and traffic cameras, which will be followed by resurfacing, road marking and the installation of median barriers.

As we move into autumn, works are still bustling from Haywards to Harris Road as our crews make the most of the settled weather.

At Mt Cecil intersection, improvements will soon be complete and the intersection reopened. Elsewhere, pavement construction will continue, including at the intersections of Hugh Duncan and Kaitawa Streets (by Haywards substation).

Drainage culverts, retaining walls, road marking and median barrier works will also soon begin at Hugh Duncan Street.

Plan ahead for a busy week of night works

Next week, between Mt Cecil and Harris Roads, ducting for telecommunications cabling and resurfacing work will start. To avoid busy peak traffic, most of this work will be done at night under stop/go.

As well, the Pāuatahanui interchange night works are underway. So if you're travelling along this stretch of highway at night you'll encounter multiple stop/goes. While this is not ideal it is unfortunately unavoidable. The team will do their best to keep the traffic flowing through these separate work sites as best they can.

Please plan ahead and allow extra time. If possible you may wish to consider an alternative route. Check our real-time Journey Planner.

While we try to do most work at night, some works will need to happen during the day. Please take care driving through our work sites and stick to the temporary speed limits, for your safety and the crews.

Pāuatahanui interchange upgrade information

Newly planted section of trees

Landscaping and planting

With every large roading project comes environmental responsbility. The State Highway 58 project team have worked closely with ecologists and Greater Wellington Regional Council to develop landscaping and planting plans to help offset the impact of our work in the Belmont Regional Park area.

Any native flora and fauna that has had to be removed for the project must be replaced within the project boundaries. If that's not possible, another suitable area must be found. In our case, there wasn't a large enough area for us to plant within the boundaries of our project. However, our works run alongside Belmont Regional Park so we'll be planting an area within the park that will restore retired farmland to native bush.

Depending on the ecological value of the vegetation removed, for each plant taken we'll be planting at least four to replace it. This work will be completed later in the year as winter is the best time for planting young trees.

We take our environmental management responsbilities very seriously and are always looking at ways we can go above and beyond consent requirements. At the moment we're looking at undertaking additional planting to improve the habitat and water quality of some of the streams that feed into the Pāuatahanui inlet. We'll keep you updated as the project progresses.

To find out more about mitigation planting, please visit the Greater Wellington Regional Council's website.

Greater Wellington Regional Council website

Dawn blessing

Before Christmas, the State Highway 58 project team marked the start of Stage 2 Safety Improvements with a dawn blessing, led by Ngāti Toa kaumātua Kahu Ropata.

This area has long had a strong cultural significance for Ngāti Toa as a key trading route and the site of some important settlements. Waka Kotahi recognise this cultural significance and we're grateful for Ngāti Toa’s blessing of the project.

And as you can see from the photo, we were also blessed with a spectacular sunrise!

We will continue to work closely with Ngāti Toa as the project progresses.

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