Bypassing Central Wellington
Battleground
Map of existing route
(Click to enlarge)
Map of new route
(Click to enlarge)
The battles surrounding the planning and consent process between 1994 and 2005 could fill many volumes. Suffice it to say there was considerable opposition to what was now called the Wellington Inner City Bypass, and the scheme was whittled down lane by lane, element by element. Opposition came from local residents and some shopkeepers, many of whom were current or former students of nearby Victoria University. It was loud, persuasive, cheeky, and later connected with the Green Party, whose influence on transport policy under MMP was considerable. Ultimately the opposition did not prevail, but along with more realistic assessments of the costs, it helped transform the project from a massive motorway into a far humbler realignment of inner city streets. As a roading project the Inner City Bypass is relatively unremarkable.
"If it was being built in a rural setting nobody would take much notice of it at all" says Transit project manager Jonnette Adams MIPENZ. The length of the new road being built is just 700m, and the total length of the project is 1.2km. It includes cycle-lanes, pedestrian walkways, a heritage precinct to which heritage buildings are being shifted for restoration, and 150 new trees to join the 50 historic trees being maintained. Heading north, Buckle St is extended through Arthur St and into a new route curving to follow what was Oak Park Ave to The Terrace tunnel. Heading south, Vivian St will reverse its direction in parts, to run one-way all the way from the tunnel to Kent Terrace. The only engineering feature of note is a large trench cut into the foot of the hillside leading toward The Terrace tunnel.
