Where to put 20,000 cars?
One of Wellington’s busiest streets is about to shut to traffic for months with 20,000 vehicles a day pushed to other choke points.
Wallace St, one of the main roads from the central city to Newtown and beyond, will soon have a 5-metre-deep trench dug along much of its length and will be closed for between 11 and 23 weeks.
The works are all tied in with construction of the 35-millionlitre Prince of Wales/Oma¯roro Reservoir on the hill above Mt Cook.
Two pipes are being installed beneath Hargreaves St, meaning residents on the top section of the hill have been unable to drive to their houses for weeks.
But come November, two large pipes are being installed in the trench beneath Wallace St.
Two traffic management plans are being considered, both of which will divert traffic via Wright St but Wellington Water spokesman Alex van Paassen said if all 20,000 cars that used Wallace St daily went on to Wright St instead, it would cause gridlock.
Drivers would also be encouraged to use Adelaide Rd, though that would also put pressure on the already-congested Basin Reserve.
The most likely traffic management plan would see Wallace St, between Hargreaves and John streets, closing entirely for 23 weeks. The less likely option would result in it being closed entirely for 11 weeks, then open to one lane only for a further 32 weeks.
Under both scenarios, Wright St parking would be removed from the western side to accommodate the added traffic. ‘‘It is going to be disruptive but, at the end of the day, we need water.’’
Local residents were largely understanding of why the work was needed but there were some concerns around safety and car parking as more cars were forced onto Wright St, he said.
Work on the reservoir, which would hold enough water to fill 14 Olympic-sized swimming pools, is anticipated to take up to three years to complete.
The cost of the project was originally $29.5 million but, when the budget blew out to $58.2m, the original estimate was described as nothing more than a best guess.