The Wainui Saddle area of the Transmission Gully Motorway in 2022. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The Wainui Saddle area of the Transmission Gully Motorway in 2022. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Major rebuilding work planned for Transmission Gully appears to have been pushed back, but the Transport Agency won’t answer questions about what specifically caused the delay.
Works covering 20km of lanes on the highway’s 27km are due for resurfacing and drainage, in an effort to complete the highway thatremains technically unfinished.
The work was originally scheduled to run from October to March.
Last week, the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) released its 2025/26 Wellington region renewals programme, but Transmission Gully was notably absent.
While sources familiar with the project say the work may no longer go ahead this summer, NZTA insists it has not been cancelled.
It was revealed in late August that six months of disruption were in store as large portions of the road are resurfaced on the $1.25 billion highway, which opened in 2022.
Transmission Gully. Photo / Mark Mitchell
NZTA has now said the programme is still being finalised, and work will not start this month as planned.
“We hope to make an announcement on details and timeframes next month,” an NZTA spokesman said.
“Road resurfacing and drainage improvements planned for Transmission Gully over the coming summer maintenance season have not been cancelled.”
The spokesman said after initially confirming the works in August, the agency undertook a review of the planned works.
“The plans were interim and were intended to provide an advanced notification of our summer roadworks programme, and therefore subject to final ratification”.
Asked whether the works still concern all 20 lane kilometres as previously stated, the agency declined to confirm.
A spokeswoman for Transport Minister Chris Bishop said he had not been involved in any decisions regarding the work.
Fulton Hogan, a planned contractor for the repairs, declined to comment on whether it was still undertaking work on the highway this summer.
The road resurfacing work must take place over summer, NZTA’s website states.
“To be effective and durable, road resurfacing must be done during the warmer, drier months. Wet and cold conditions are not suitable for completing permanent and durable road repairs.”
The work relates to a legal battle with one of the road’s builders, CPB Contractors and HEB Construction Joint Venture (CPBHEB JV), over unfinished work and quality issues.
The matter was ultimately settled outside court, and it is not yet known whether NZTA or the CPBHEB JV will be responsible for picking up the bill.
The ribbon cutting ceremony for Transmission Gully in 2022. Photo / Mark Mitchell
A recent report found the highway shaves an average of nine minutes off trip times compared to the previous route, is used by almost 25,000 vehicles a day, and delivered $79 million in savings in 2024.
Nobody has died on the stretch of motorway since it opened, and the rate of serious injuries per million vehicles has fallen from 0.6 on the old route to 0.2 on Transmission Gully.
The Herald last week revealed more than 90% of commuters, including Chris Bishop, support a speed limit increase to 110km/h, according to the public consultation.
The speed limit increase is currently undergoing a decision-making process, which can take between six and 12 months.
Plans for Transmission Gully stretch back more than 100 years. Construction officially began in September 2014, when Prime Minister Sir John Key turned the first soil on the project. It was opened in 2022 by Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern after NZTA agreed to defer some quality assurance tests until after the opening, and reduced the requirements for others.
Ethan Manera is a Wellington-based journalist covering Wellington issues, local politics and business in the capital. He can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.