Transmission Gully official opening. Video / NZ Herald
Kelly Fox is a name that every commuter, every motorist and everyone who likes being on time and lives between Horowhenua and Wellington should know.
The traffic enthusiast who runs the Traffic Updates - Horowhenua Kapiti Wellington page on Facebook has gained a huge following because of her regular and reliable updates about the roads in and out of Kāpiti.
Growing from 500 people who followed the page on the first weekend she created it back in December of 2018, to 65,000 followers now, Kelly's updates are often faster than the NZTA on road conditions and crashes.
Kelly Fox standing on top of the Wainui Saddle, looking northbound with Raumati and Paraparaumu in the background.
"The opening of Transmission Gully is going to revolutionise everything."
Going for a ride on the road on Monday with one of the road builders explaining the details of the engineering as they drove, Kelly said, "I was in awe the whole way, driving every single metre of it.
"Every square inch of Transmission Gully has been thought out."
Not only is the road impressive, but the scenery around it and the views from the top of Wainui Saddle are also something to look out for.
"The road is cut through hills and you can see where the earth has been moved out.
"The hills that have been cut have been perfectly engineered to catch water, to catch boulders if that were to ever happen as it's near a fault line.
"Every square inch of it has been thought out – that's why it's taken so long and cost so much.
"I was in awe for the whole of the drive, from start to finish with all the off-ramps and interchanges."
The 27km motorway, with four new interchanges, has been built through geologically and geotechnically challenging and steep terrain with constrained and difficult access, requiring the construction of 25 major structures (bridges and large culverts).
More than 11 million cubic metres of earth has been moved, the largest volume of earthworks ever undertaken on a roading project in New Zealand.
Transmission Gully, at the Paekākāriki end, a day before the official opening. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Trying to critique it and find faults, Kelly said, "Honestly I couldn't it was absolutely mind-blowing.
"While the road amazed me, the drive time amazed me even more, that's going to really help.
"Going up the hill, heading south from Paekākāriki, suddenly we were at Porirua, it was so quick."
Her advice to drivers when driving the road for the first time is to pay attention to what lane you're in.
"The hardest part will be navigating with caution the first time you drive it.
"Just have your wits about you at the interchanges, know where you need to get off – for example, those going to Pukerua Bay won't need to go on Transmission Gully at all."
With the road revolutionising the ride into Wellington, Kelly said it's great to have another route heading into the capital.
"It's another route so if there's a crash on the coast road there's another option.
"Trucks can get in and out of the city easily and there's room for the trucks and the cars now.
"I can tell why it's taken a while but I think it will be worth every penny."
Using her own time to update the page thanks to a mix of her own personal contacts and publicity information, proving the updates takes time, but Kelly said it's worth it to keep people safe.
"It takes a lot of my time, but I just want to help people.
"The drivers and the roads around here are crazy, it's about keeping everyone safe."
This morning Transmission Gully was gifted the name Te Ara Nui o Te Rangihaeata (the great path of Te Rangihaeata) by Ngāti Toa.
It references the journey taken by Ngāti Toa chief Te Rangihaeata after the final stand-off between Te Rangihaeata and crown forces at Battle Hill before Te Rangihaeata retreated to Poroutawhao in the Horowhenua.
