Wellington Inner City Bypass

The Wellington Inner City Bypass is a westbound one-way road varying from two to four lanes largely at ground level in central Wellington, New Zealand, part of State Highway 1, and was fully opened in March 2007.

Wellington Inner City Bypass
State Highway 1
A view north along the bypass from the Pukeahu National War Memorial Park
Route information
Maintained by NZ Transport Agency
Length1 km (1 mi)
Existed2007–present
HistoryArras Tunnel completed in 2014
Major junctions
North endWillis Street
Wellington Urban Motorway
South endBasin Reserve
Sussex Street
Location
Primary
destinations		Mount Cook, Brooklyn, Te Aro, Wellington CBD
Highway system

The bypass extends north-west from the Basin Reserve through the Te Aro area of inner Wellington along Karo Drive to the Terrace Tunnel where it joins onto the Wellington Urban Motorway.

Original designs

A motorway bypass of the central city was proposed as early as 1963 in the De Leuw Cather Report, as an extension of the Wellington Urban Motorway (then known as the 'foothills motorway') in a trench along the approximate route of Karo Drive and Buckle Street, with overbridges at Cuba Street and Taranaki Street, and ending at a duplicated Mount Victoria Tunnel. Grade-separated intersections were to be provided at Taranaki Street, Tory Street, and the Basin Reserve.[1] However, this proposal was shelved by the National Roads Board due to financial cutbacks in 1974.[2]

A report published in 1980 proposed a scaled-down version of the foothills proposal, with an expressway trenched underneath Willis and Victoria Streets, cutting through Te Aro and severing Cuba Street. Due to the impact that this design would have had on the character of the city centre, it was not considered further. In 1994, the highway designation was extended from the Vivian Street and Ghuznee Street offramps to the airport, passing through the city centre through a one-way road system; this is the basic pattern that persists to this day.[1]

Controversy

The final design, as a ground-level road with traffic lights, resulted in complaints from pedestrian and cyclist traffic about crossing the bypass. Other objections related to the need to shift or demolish heritage buildings, and many expressed concern that the road would irreparably damage the Bohemian culture and community of the area. In September 2001, after the announcement by Transit New Zealand that construction would begin, hundreds of Wellingtonians marched through the city in protest.[3]

Those in favour of the bypass generally described removal of traffic from the city centre as the main benefit.

Construction and opening
The trenched section of the bypass is on the right. The Vivian Street offramp on the left was the northbound motorway onramp prior to the opening of the bypass.

Construction of the bypass began in March 2005, with removal and movement of sixteen heritage buildings (including four heritage shops in upper Cuba Street).[4]

In December 2006, the new northbound route of State Highway 1 along the new Karo Drive trench was opened, followed by the opening of the new Vivian Street offramp in March 2007. Prior to the opening, a 'Walk the Bypass' event was held that raised $5000 for the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary.[5]

Arras Tunnel
The Arras Tunnel viewed from the south.

In September 2014, the bypass was moved into the new cut-and-cover Arras Tunnel between the Basin Reserve and Taranaki Street, removing the Tory Street intersection. The space above the tunnel was used for the Pukeahu National War Memorial Park, and the name of the tunnel was chosen to honour the efforts of the New Zealand Tunnelling Company in the French town of Arras during the First World War.[6][7] The tunnel walls are decorated with 273 decorative poppies as a further memorial.[8]

During construction of the tunnel, two still-in-use historic sewers (including a brick sewer over a century old) were protected from damage. In addition, the foundations of the nearby Mount Cook Police Barracks were protected by a 90 metre long wall of steel piles.[8]

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References
  1. "Wellington's Transport History" (PDF). Let's Get Wellington Moving. April 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  2. Tripe, David (28 August 1974). "The End of the Road to Nowhere". Salient. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington Students Association. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  3. O'Neil, Andrea (6 April 2015). "150 years of news: Protests against inner-city bypass exposed deep rift in Te Aro district heritage". The Dominion Post. Wellington: Fairfax New Zealand. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  4. "Issue 02" (PDF). Wellington Inner City Bypass Construction newsletter. Transit New Zealand. March 2005. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  5. "Issue 13" (PDF). Wellington Inner City Bypass Construction newsletter. Transit New Zealand. February 2007. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  6. "Arras Tunnel to open to traffic on Monday". NZ Transport Agency. 26 September 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  7. "Arras Tunnel". Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 19 October 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  8. "The Building and Naming of Wellington's Arras Tunnel" (PDF). NZ Transport Agency. 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2018.

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