Holiday delays northbound on SH1 as Wellingtonians depart the capital

North-bound traffic queued along the Kapiti Expressway between Waikanae and Otaki with Christmas holiday-makers facing long delays on their journey north from Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Wellingtonians departing the capital for Christmas are being told to expect delays northbound on State Highway 1.

Waka Kotahi NZTA Wellington advised this morning there were major delays northbound on SH1 between Waikanae Beach and Ōtaki, with congestion also building at Pukerua Bay.

There were also delays on State Highway 2 northbound between the Hutt Road on-ramp and the Petone off-ramp, with a queue forming on SH1 Ngauranga Gorge southbound for the Hutt Rd off-ramp.

They updated their post at 11.20am, saying queues were continuing to build, and congestion was not expected to ease until 6pm on Wednesday.

Paekākāriki Hill Rd would also be closed from 12-7pm on Wednesday.

UPDATE 1:15PM
Delays on #SH2 northbound between the Hutt Rd on-ramp and the Petone off-ramp have now eased. There is now a queue on #SH1 Ngauranga Gorge southbound for the Hutt Rd off-ramp. Congestion also remains on #SH1 at Pukerua Bay and between Waikanae Beach and Ōtaki. ^EW pic.twitter.com/m7YfgDhqRF

— Waka Kotahi NZTA Wellington (@WakaKotahiWgtn) December 23, 2020

The transport agency earlier advised they expected traffic to be busy on SH1 through to the Kāpiti Coast until 8pm, peaking between 10am-12pm.

Last week the transport agency warned travellers that traffic would be very congested northbound on SH1 on Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 (Christmas Eve), and it expected between 1pm and 5.30pm to be the heaviest period.

With wet conditions predicted in the Wellington region on Thursday, MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferries has also recommended travellers allow plenty of time to drive to the conditions.

"It's not a great morning for travel tomorrow," he said.

"Thursday morning looks like it will be wet and windy throughout the North Island so work extra time into your travels."