Opening of major Kāpiti expressway delayed until late 2022

Construction of the Northern tip of the Peka Peka to Ōtaki Expressway. Photo / Rosalie Willis

Waka Kotahi NZTA has confirmed the Peka Peka to Ōtaki Expressway (PP2Ō) is now expected to open in late 2022.

The 13km, four-lane expressway, which started construction in 2017, has been delayed before due to changes to the project.

These included building a 10km shared path (for cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders) alongside the expressway and upgrading the surface of the expressway with a new pavement design.

The road was rescheduled to open in 2021, but then Covid-19 hit.

Waka Kotahi National Manager of Infrastructure Delivery Andrew Thackwray said since the Level 4 lockdown last year, NZTA and Fletcher Construction have been engaged in negotiations regarding a new opening date.

Thackwray said through those negotiations, Waka Kotahi now expected the expressway to open to traffic in late 2022.

"As we get closer to completion, we will have more certainty about a specific opening date and how the new road will change people's journeys throughout the region."

The project is currently almost three-quarters complete.

Its cost has increased from $330 million to a now estimated $405 million.

The motorway is designed to offer increased travel time reliability for people and freight, and reduce congestion at major pinch points such as Ōtaki.

PP2Ō will connect with the 18km Mackays to Peka Peka Expressway and the 1.25-billion-dollar Transmission Gully Motorway which is set to open in September.