About the expressway
The Mackays to Peka Peka Expressway is a key part of the 110km Wellington Northern Corridor – one of the Government’s seven Roads of National Significance (RoNS).
The Expressway, which runs between Mackays Crossing and Peka Peka, is currently under construction and scheduled for completion in mid-2017 or earlier if construction continues at pace. Once complete, it will separate local and highway traffic, resulting in reduced congestion on local roads, shorter and more reliable travel times, and a safer and more resilient road network.
Once the Expressway opens, the stretch of existing SH1 between Poplar Avenue in Raumati South and Te Kowhai Road in Peka Peka will no longer be required to operate as a state highway.
The NZ Transport Agency has 24 months from the opening of the Expressway to remove the state highway classification from SH1 between Poplar Avenue and Te Kowhai Road and hand the road to the Kāpiti Coast District Council. This is a formal process, known as “revocation”.
The NZ Transport Agency and the Kāpiti Coast District Council are working in partnership to design and deliver a fit-for-purpose local road that improves the district’s resilience and enhances connectivity through and across the district.
In particular, the Project seeks to improve accessibility through the Paraparaumu and Waikanae town centres, improve connections to and from rail and bus hubs, and enhance cycling and walking options between Poplar Avenue and Peka Peka.
The Project will consider a variety of factors including quality of the road, kerbs, shared paths, cycle lanes, planting and urban design, speed limits, and renaming of the road.
Although the road will largely operate as a local arterial road, it will still have to function as an emergency bypass route between Poplar Avenue and Peka Peka in the event of an incident on the Expressway. This will be a key factor in the design of any improvements.
It is important that the new local road works well for the community it serves. We’ve been engaging with the Kāpiti Coast community since 2011 when we undertook initial consultation on the future of the existing SH1, including two expos.
Now that the Expressway construction is almost complete, we will provide further opportunities to inform the community about how the road will operate in August this year and seek feedback to help inform final design details.
What does revocation mean?
When the NZ Transport Agency (the Agency) builds new roads, the roads they replacebeing replaced are often no longer required as State Highways. The Agency gives the roads back to a local roading authority – typically the district council. This handover process is called “revocation”.
Revocation is a formal process involving consultation with the Transport Minister and publication of a notice in the New Zealand Gazette. It involves “revoking” (or “removing”) a road’s status as a State Highway and transferring responsibility for its maintenance from the Agency to the district council (in this case, Kāpiti Coast District Council).
In practice, before the State Highway status of a road can be “revoked”, the Agency has to ensure that the road is fit-for-purpose under its new status as a local road. This can include removing lanes or passing lanes, changing speed limits, removing restrictions on access, improving intersections, and adding provisions for pedestrians and cyclists. The district council may wish to input funding to allow improvements above that provided by the Agency or to improve “streetscaping” – things like landscape planting, seats, footpath paving, and artwork.
It is expected that the MacKays to Peka Peka Expressway is scheduled for completion by mid-2017 or earlier if construction continues at pace. The Agency has two years from opening to complete the revocation process. Between now and late 2018, the Agency, in partnership with the Kāpiti Coast District Council, will work on design concepts, seek public feedback, and undertake any construction or maintenance works required to turn State Highway 1 between Poplar Avenue and Te Kowhai Road in to a local road that can be handed back to the Kāpiti Coast District Council.
Working together
Click here to visit the Kāpiti Coast District Council’s website, and learn more about the revocation process from the Council’s perspective.