The RiverLink project would include a bridge across the Hutt River, with the aim of improving traffic congestion in Lower Hutt City, and improving resilience. Photo: Supplied/ RiverLink partners
Big roadworks on State Highway 2 through Lower Hutt, called Riverlink, are going to cost more than twice as much as originally said.
The cost of replacing Melling Bridge and putting in a new interchange, and associated works is now forecast at $1.5 billion, the government said on Friday.
Its original budget was $700m, though RNZ reported in late 2023 there were rumours it would breach a $1b, which were denied.
The government said on Friday the higher cost came even despite finding $200m in savings. It agreed to extra funding for the Road of Regional significance project.
"The project has been undoubtedly challenging from a cost perspective," Transport Minister Chris Bishop said in a statement.
The wider programme includes flood protection and "city revitalisation", with the approximate $1.5b budget met by $1b from New Zealand Transport Agency / Waka Kotahi (NZTA), $295m from the Greater Wellington Regional Council and $180m from Hutt City Council.
It would "start this year" and take six years to replace the old bridge, Bishop said - though dozens of houses and businesses have been demolished over the last two years to make way for it.
However, NZTA would take several more months to finalise the design so it could work as efficiently as possible, he added.
Hutt City Council last year gave a start date of February 2025.
The regional council has called having to temporarily shut Melling train station to relocate it south, with extra parking, a "bitter pill" for commuters.
Chris Bishop. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
A new walk-and-bike bridge south of the interchange paid for by Hutt City Council was included in the project, ending doubts it would not be funded.
Lower Hutt Mayor Campbell Barry said signing the final agreements and securing funding was a "once-in-a-generation deal" for the city.
"We are ready to go," Barry said in a statement on Friday.
The stretch of SH2 at Melling carried 40,000 vehicles a day and faced years of roadworks and disruption.
A separate project to replace a big corroded sewer pipe under the highway, in danger of failing and spewing effluent into Te Awa Kairangi / Hutt River, was set to close one lane when work begins shortly.
Melling was "a severe bottleneck for traffic that slows down commuters and freight", Bishop said.
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