Petone to Grenada highway brought back to life

The road was designed to connect Hutt Valley to State Highway 1 via Horokiwi. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The Petone to Grenada highway is being brought back to life after the $1.8 billion plan was effectively put on ice.

The route is being considered in a new business case, along with a suite of other improvements to east-west journeys in the Wellington region.

The road was designed to connect Hutt Valley to State Highway 1 via Horokiwi.

But it was re-evaluated in 2018 and put on the back burner shortly after the Labour-led Government came to power.

It was recommended the project be redesigned and construction of a long-term east-west connection be considered for funding from 2028.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency regional relationships director Emma Speight said at the time the overwhelming majority of trips between northern Wellington and the Hutt Valley were by private car.

"In line with the Government's vision for our transport network, the redesigned project will be required to provide improved transport choice for these east-west journeys."

Now, a recent Waka Kotahi regional industry briefing document has revealed the existence of a "West-East Connection Programme Business Case".

System design national manager Robyn Elston told the Herald this business case will expand on the previous work completed as part of the Petone to Grenada project.

"The new Programme Business Case will consider all possible options to improve west-east connections across the region between the Hutt Valley and Porirua/northern Wellington, including the Petone to Grenada route, alternative new routes, and improvements to existing routes."

National list MP Chris Bishop, who is based in Hutt South, is welcoming the news. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The work will focus on unlocking potential new housing developments, resilience, better freight movement, and reducing carbon emissions.

Elston said $1.08 million has been allocated for the business case.

However, since the industry briefing, Waka Kotahi has re-evaluated its regional investment priorities so work may not start before the end of 2022.

National list MP Chris Bishop, who is based in Hutt South, welcomed the news, although labelled it as "back to the future".

"This was one of the projects that was re-evaluated back in 2018 after Phil Twyford took a big slice out of the state highway budget and the project was basically put on ice, so it's four years on."

Bishop said one of the major benefits of the road was unlocking greenfield space for housing and allowing a direct public transport route from Petone and Lower Hutt out to Grenada, Tawa, and Porirua.

"At the moment if you're a commuter from the Hutt and you want to go to Porirua, you basically have to go all the way into Wellington and then all the way back out again which is incredibly frustrating and unsurprisingly no one does it."

The long-awaited road ran into trouble even before it was re-evaluated, with the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake prompting a rethink.

Waka Kotahi found the road in its then-proposed form may not provide the resilience outcomes needed for Wellington, was more costly than first thought, and its impacts on the environment might be difficult to minimise.

The road, which was originally estimated to cost $250 million, was last costed in 2018 at $1.8 billion.