Wellington drivers heading north through the Terrace Tunnel will be diverted from Sunday 1 November as work begins on the Karo Drive intersection, with further ramp closures planned at Newlands and Aotea Quay.
The tunnel will close to northbound traffic from 9pm to 4.30am, Sunday to Thursday nights. Traffic will be diverted to the Aotea Quay on-ramp. The northbound tunnel will remain open on Friday and Saturday nights.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi expects the night-work programme to run until Thursday 17 December. The first five closures begin on 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 November, with the final reopening of that week scheduled for 4.30am on Friday 6 November.
The Karo Drive and Willis Street intersection is being changed to provide three northbound lanes towards the tunnel, merging back to two before the entrance. Work includes changes to kerbs, footpaths and pedestrian crossings, along with resurfacing and moving roadside equipment.
Daytime work is also planned from 9am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, involving shoulder closures through the tunnel and shoulder or lane closures at the Willis Street intersection. NZTA says these daytime works will not require a detour.
The first night of tunnel work coincides with resurfacing at Newlands. Both the northbound and southbound on-ramps there are scheduled to close from 8pm on Sunday 1 November until 5.30am on Monday 2 November.
At Aotea Quay, the southbound off-ramp will close on Sunday 1 and Monday 2 November from 9pm to 4am the following morning while a barrier crash cushion is replaced. This is the southbound exit, not the northbound on-ramp used by the Terrace Tunnel diversion.
Further north, drainage work between the Johnsonville northbound on-ramp and Churton Park northbound off-ramp will require a northbound lane closure from 7pm to 5am on Sunday 1 to Thursday 5 November nights.
A southbound lane will also close between the Cobham Drive roundabout and Caledonia Street in Rongotai from 7pm on Sunday 1 November to 5am on Monday 2 November for rockfall clearance.
Drivers using State Highway 2 should also allow for resurfacing near Petone. A northbound lane at the northern end of the Ngauranga-to-Petone section will close from 8pm on Monday 2 November until 4.30am on Tuesday. Petone's southbound on-ramp will close the following night, from 9pm on Tuesday 3 November to 4.30am on Wednesday, with traffic directed via Dowse Interchange.
The work is weather-dependent and schedules may change at short notice. Drivers should check NZTA's Journey Planner before travelling and follow the signs at each work site.
Photo: Henry Burrows, December 2015. Cropped and resized; this image adaptation is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
