Newspaper clipping from March 1971 of Transmission Gully supporters protesting against a coastal route motorway. Photo / Nick James
Newspaper clipping from March 1971 of Transmission Gully supporters protesting against a coastal route motorway. Photo / Nick James
After years of delays and budget blowouts, Transmission Gully will finally open to the public this week – a milestone decades in the making.
The Transmission Gully link roads, connecting the Porirua suburbs of Whitby and Waitangirua to the new motorway, were blessed in a ceremony this morning.
Waka Kotahi has directed the contractors of the $1.25 billion motorway north of Wellington to have it open by the end of March.
That means the road has to open by Thursday this week at the latest.
Construction of the motorway officially began in 2014 with an original opening date of 2020.
Porirua mayor Anita Baker cutting a ribbon after the Transmission Gully link roads were blessed this morning. Photo / Nick James
However, construction defects, the Covid-19 pandemic and outstanding consent tasks have seen that date continuously delayed, with the latest opening target an order rather than an agreed-upon date.
And for some in the capital, the wait for the road to open has been much longer than just a couple of years.
Paremata Residents Association vice-chairman Russell Morrison first became involved with advocating for Transmission Gully in 1965 when the Ministry of Works created proposals to build a six-lane motorway through the Pauatahanui Inlet.
Paremata Residents Association vice-chairman Russell Morrison. Photo / Nick James
"The Paremata Residents Association was very involved in opposing those proposals."
Morrison said after those proposals were scrapped, Transmission Gully started being discussed as an alternative.
In 1984 he joined the Transmission Gully Action Committee which saw residents between Paekakariki and Paremata advocate for the road – particularly against other highway options being proposed at the time, such as a four-lane coastal route.
Morrison said in 1989 the estimated cost for building Transmission Gully was $159 million.
He said he's looking forward to people finally getting to drive on the motorway.
"After all the trials and tribulations which it has gone through, we'll be very happy to see it open."
A pledge to get Transmission Gully started was central to Jenny Brash being elected Porirua mayor in 1998.
Brash said she was lucky to have a council at the time that was supportive of the project, including Roger Blakeley who became Porirua City Council's chief executive in 2000.
"He did very, very good background and evidential reports."
Former Porirua Jenny Brash with former Porirua City Council chief executive Roger Blakely visiting Transmission Gully last week. Photo / supplied
Brash said during her time as mayor she was on the Regional Transport Committee, where she worked alongside former Greater Wellington Regional Council chairs Margaret Shields and Fran Wilde to make the road a number one priority in the region for both the council and the public.
Brash expressed sadness that Margaret Shields died before the road could open.
"[It's] really, really sad that she can't see the opening of it because she fought so hard for it."
Brash said Former United Future Leader Peter Dunne was also key to getting the project across the line after the 2008 general election.
"National leader John Key needed his vote and Peter said if you want me in confidence and supply you will fund Transmission Gully and that got it over the line."
The decision was later made by National in 2009 to build the road, she said.
Brash told the Herald it was going to be fantastic to see it open.
"I think we have got a resilient route out of Wellington that will serve this city for the next 50 to 100 years."
Plimmerton resident Tim Sheppard remembers the motorway being floated in the 1960s and 70s, however he didn't get involved until he joined the Transmission Gully Action Group in the mid-2000s.
Sheppard said they were fighting hard at the time to get the road under way.
"We did fundraising for advertisements in the daily newspapers and that got a lot of attention, and then Greater Wellington Regional Council held some hearings on the Northern corridors out of Wellington and there was a huge number of submissions on that."
A pamphlet distributed in the 1980s. Photo / Nick James
He said he's tremendously excited the road has finally been delivered.
"It has been a very long time coming and it will make a huge difference in terms of the resilience of the transport routes not only for Wellingtonians, but for the Interislander routes too."
Meryl Harwood, who was also part of the Transmission Gully Action Group, said the road has been needed for the last 50 years.
"I just was really keen for this because I felt and I still feel it's well overdue and it needs to be opened."
They worked hard to get the project into the public sphere, she said.
"(We) put advertisements in the paper just to let the public know that if they had Transmission Gully their problems would be halved."
Meryl's husband Ian Harwood, who has since died, also belonged to the group and was at the opening ceremony for the construction of Transmission Gully.
"He was invited to turn one of the sods when they started it ... and that was exciting, at least it was going."
She said she would be driving on the road as soon as possible in memory of her husband.
Former Porirua mayor Nick Leggett remembers his grandparents talking about the road.
"My grandparents moved to Porirua from Wellington in the early 1950s and obviously the road had been talked about at that point, but there have been a few options and quite a bit of rumour throughout the decades."
Former Porirua mayor Nick Leggett with his nana Myra Leggett in 1982. Photo / supplied
Leggett said it's a great moment for people who have been in the region for a long time.
"My nana is now 97 and I have been saying to her, look I'm really looking forward to driving you on Transmission Gully and she's always said, no I'm never going to see it ... so hopefully I'll be able to take her for a drive on the road.
"There are a lot of people in Porirua who waited for this day who won't see it sadly and that's a bit of a reflection on how long it takes for infrastructure to be built in New Zealand."
He said without people campaigning for the motorway over the years it wouldn't have happened.
"Without the blood, sweat and tears of people in the Porirua communities I don't believe Transmission Gully would ever have happened."
Transmission Gully. Photo / Mark Tantrum
Leggett said the upcoming opening has provided a moment of reflection for his own campaigning for the road.
"Interestingly a friend of mine reminded me that I gave a talk back in about 1991 on why we needed Transmission Gully and it just shows you how long it has been on the tip of our tongues."
He said the opening of the motorway shows what a few good community people with the right kind of evidence, arguments and heart can actually do to make a difference.
"There are probably about 10 or 20 of those people ... and many of them are no longer with us but Transmission Gully will be their legacy and I think all of our lives in Wellington will be better as a result."
