Transmission Gully legal battle: What it means for the unfinished road

Transmission Gully contractors are taking Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency to court over unfinished works, but assurances are being made that the $1.25 billion road is still safe for motorists to use in the meantime.

The motorway out of Wellington opened in March last year to much fanfare but was technically unfinished.

After years of budget blowouts and delays due to Covid-19, severe weather events, and the Kaikōura earthquake, there was a desire to get the road open and iron out the rest later.

But 19 months down the track and the ongoing spat over finishing the motorway to the agreed standard has moved from private negotiations into the courtroom.

Waka Kotahi Transport Services general manager Brett Gliddon said Transmission Gully continued to provide a good and safe route as well as important regional resilience.

“Public access to the highway will not be affected and current planned works on the project are expected to continue,” Gliddon said.

Transmission Gully has been built through a public-private partnership (PPP), the Wellington Gateway Partnership (WGP), with CPB Contractors and HEB Construction subcontracted to carry out the design and construction.

A company called Ventia has also been subcontracted to operate and maintain the motorway for 25 years after it’s completed.

Gliddon said Waka Kotahi is working closely with Ventia and WGP to ensure the highway is maintained and kept safe for road users.

The outstanding works include a new State Highway 59 connection between Mackays Crossing and Paekākāriki, resurfacing at the Pāuatahanui interchange, a recreational track along parts of the route, and maintenance access tracks.

The completion of some quality assurance tests, works completion tests, consenting tasks and property agreement obligations with local landowners also remain incomplete.

Public pressure to get the road open last year was immense and Waka Kotahi agreed to defer some quality assurance tests until after the opening and temporarily reduce the requirements for others.

Without this decision, it would have been several more months before the road could open.

What the transport agency said at the time of that decision still holds true today.

“Waka Kotahi is not prepared to compromise on the long-term safety of the road but we are working to balance this along with the road’s reliability, safeguarding the public from any future financial liability for defects not remedied now, while doing everything we can to ensure people can use this vital transport connection as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, it remains unknown what the final cost of Transmission Gully will be after it has already skyrocketed from $850 million to $1.25b.

Add to that the fact parties are still wrangling over the financial fallout of the 2021 Delta lockdown and now there are even more legal fees to pay.

This latest court action is an unwelcome speedbump for a road that was first talked about more than 100 years ago, opened to the public in March 2022, and is now even further away from being finished.

Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.