Underpass takes a welcome step

The project will separate highway traffic from local traffic accessing Welcome Bay and Hairini.

The long-overdue project to build a direct road link to Welcome Bay has taken a big step forward with the New Zealand Transport Agency calling for registrations of interest from contractors wanting to design and build the road.

A $52 million underpass will cut through the Maungatapu Roundabout under State Highway 29, directly linking Welcome Bay Rd to the Hairini causeway.

Documents were available to contractors for the project to ease congestion on SH29 by building a two-lane road from the Turret Rd bridge.

The announcement has been greeted cautiously by Welcome Bay councillor Bill Grainger as the first step in solving traffic woes that have blighted the Hairini interchange since Welcome Bay developed into a major suburb.

While the project will separate highway traffic from local traffic accessing Welcome Bay and Hairini, Cr Grainger said it was only doing half the job.

"The underpass is great, but I want to put pressure on the Government to fulfil the promise that they made for the total project to four-lane Turret Rd bridge and widen Turret Rd."

Cr Grainger was frustrated that the widening, including 15th Ave, was not getting the same priority as the underpass. He was concerned the project would be compromised by morning rush-hour traffic creating a bottleneck at the Turret Rd bridge.

He opposed the plan for the council to take back the Turret Rd/15th Ave link - it was currently a State Highway.

Cr Grainger linked the full $100 million Hairini Link project promised by the Government with the negotiations under way for the transport agency to take over the council's indebted Route K toll road.

He questioned why the council should be negotiating for the agency to take over and maintain Route K when the council would be left holding the debt.

The agency has asked for registrations of interest from design and construction teams with experience in delivering major roading and bridging infrastructure on a similar scale to the Hairini Link project.

The underpass is expected to be finished in 2016.

The Welcome Bay Underpass Project

*1.7km of new road
*Two bridges carrying SH29 traffic over the road cutting
*One crossing over the Kaitemako Stream
*Drainage and stormwater management
*150,000cu m of earthworks, including bringing in 120,000cu m of fill 25,000sq m of new roading pavement
*A signalled intersection at underpass link with Welcome Bay Rd
*Landscaping