Road closures and disruptions in Porirua City

Water and sewer main works (June 2023 to May / June 2024)

Champion St in Rānui is is currently closed between Windley St and Mepham Place. The closure is to allow Te Aranga Alliance, under Kāinga Ora, to carry out construction of a new sewer main and renewal of existing water main.

During the closure, traffic will be diverted between Champion St and Mungavin Ave via Windley St and McKillop St onto Mungavin Ave.

Te Aranga has carried out some road safety works on Mungavin Ave, Windley St and McKillop St to assist traffic flows.

Operating under the full road closure allows the contractor to maximise their operations and therefore minimise the length of time the road is closed and road users are disrupted.

It is planned that one lane on Champion St will be reopening (under temporary traffic signal control) to through traffic by the end of shift on Tuesday 30 April.

Read more about this project

Work starts in the week beginning 3 March to construct two new raised pedestrian crossings for Tairangi School and Kindergarten – one on Omapere St and one on Warspite Ave.

During the works three temporary crossings will be installed to ensure access for the public and to the schools is maintained.

There will be traffic management and stop/go in place during construction which is expected to take 6 to 8 weeks.

Work hours will be between 9am and 2.30pm within the carriageway and 7am - 6pm outside of the carriageway.

The car park outside 14 Bedford Court, Te Akapuanga Hall (Porirua Cook Islands Hall) will be closed between midday and 10pm on the following days for the Pacific Night Market:

Friday 22 March

Friday 12 April

Friday 31 May

Friday 21 June

Friday 26 July

Friday 23 August

Friday 27 September

Friday 25 October

Friday 13 December

Watermain renewal project (June 2023 - June 2024)

Wellington Water is renewing the watermain on Prosser St in a project expected to take up to a year.

The project started in late June 2023 and is being delivered in stages, which will all have associated traffic disruptions.

Below is the proposed programmed of works

• Stage 1 – Late June to early September 2023: Prosser St, between Titahi Bay Road and Heriot Drive, one lane road closure. Eastbound traffic will be diverted down Herriot Drive.
• Stage 2 – September to November 2023: Prosser St, between Heriot Drive and Raiha Street one lane road, contraflow closure. Within this stage there will be a brief closure of Mohuia Crescent.
• Stage 3 – November 2023: Raiha Street roundabout diversion. Eastbound traffic will be diverted around Mohuia Crescent.
• Stage 4 – November 2023 - February 2024: Prosser St. Traffic will be under contraflow for the northern 180 PE pipe construction.
• Stage 5 – February to May 2024: Prosser St. Traffic will be under contraflow for the southern 180 PE pipe construction. Within this stage there will be a brief closure of Heriot Drive.

For more information, please contact Wellington Water

Installation of a new watermain (8 January to August 2024)

Work started in early January on the installation of a new watermain on Awarua St, Elsdon.

The project is expected to take approximately seven months to complete and is being carried out in stages by Wellington Pipelines for Wellington Water.

Please be aware the work will cause some road and footpath disruptions.

We thank road and footpath users and residents of the area for their patience while this important project is completed.

Installation of a new watermain (15 Jan to November/December 2024)

Work is due to start on Monday 15 January to install a new watermain on Titahi Bay Road (near Wi Neera Drive) and along Tangare Drive.

The project is expected to take approximately eleven months to complete. It is being carried out in stages and is a joint effort between Wellington Pipelines and Wellington Water.

Please be aware the work will cause some road and footpath disruptions, with some works carried out at night as required.

We thank road and footpath users, and residents of the area for their patience while this important project is completed.

The temporary roundabout at the Raiha St / Kenepuru Drive intersection is being replaced with permanent features.

Construction hours:

Day-time work

Hours of work are 7am to 6pm Monday to Saturday:

• 7am-9am work will take place off the road, on the berms behind the kerb lines, to minimise disruption.
• 9am-3pm any work that impacts/closes traffic lanes will happen during these hours which are off-peak. There may be some minor adjustments to these hours once we see the impact of this work on traffic.
• 3pm-6pm work will take place off the road, on the berms behind the kerb lines, to minimise disruption.

This work will include constructing the shared path, street lighting and landscaping.

Traffic management measures in place will include lane closures during off-peak hours and pedestrian diversions.

Night-time work

Hours of work are 7pm to 6am Sunday to Thursday.

• This work will include roundabout construction and work on the road surface.
• Stop/go, speed restrictions and other traffic management measures will be in place. Access through the roundabout will be maintained.
  
  To find out more, visit our project page.

Construction of a shared pathway (Dec 2023 to October 2024)

Work is underway to create a shared pathway on Papakōwhai Rd. The project is expected to be finished in October 2024.

Some road and footpath disruptions are expected. To find out more about this project please take a look at our project page.

We thank road and footpath users and residents of the area for their patience while this important project is completed.

Installation of a new watermain (15 Jan to November/December 2024)

Work is due to start on Monday 15 January on work to install a new watermain on Titahi Bay Rd (near Wi Neera Drive) and Tangare Drive, Elsdon.

The project is expected to take approximately eleven months to complete. It is being carried out in stages and is a joint effort between Wellington Pipelines and Wellington Water.

Please be aware the work will cause some road and footpath disruptions, with some works carried out at night as required.

We thank road and footpath users and residents of the area for their patience while this important project is completed.

Upgrade of existing pedestrian crossing (15 January to March 2024)

Work is due to start on Monday 15 January on improvements to the current pedestrian crossing on Warspite Ave, in front of Waitangirua Mall car park.

The improvements will include creating a raised crossing and new road markings, plus footpath and pedestrian ramp upgrades.

Work is expected to take approximately four to six weeks to complete and will involve some road and footpath disruptions and a temporary relocation of the bus stop.

During this time the pedestrian crossing will be closed, however pedestrians will be able to use the nearby signalised intersection crossing point at Niagara St.

Access to the mall car park will always be available.

We thank road and footpath users and residents of the area for their patience while this important project is completed.

Update 22 March 2024

We understand the frustration over the closure of the lower section of Spinnaker Drive in Whitby, due to a slip that occurred in July 2023.

According to our transport experts, the site is like an iceberg – from the road you only get a glimpse of what’s at play, the risk doesn’t look too bad and it appears easy to fix. But from the air (see aerial picture below) you can see that there is a large volume of material that is still moving. This is what we’re worried about. An early attempt to cut some of the slip material out, under the direction of a geotechnical expert, resulted in more coming down on the road.

We’ve been told by geotech experts that if we modify the base of the slope the whole thing might come down.

Our first priority is safety, which is why that area is secured.

Our next priority is getting to the root of the problem (with material that is still moving) so we can work out what design fix is needed. Wellington Water’s inspection, which included lab testing of ground water at the base of the slip, concluded Council’s water, wastewater or stormwater pipes are not the source of the water affecting the slip. This suggests the source could be a spring, runoff from private land or stormwater runoff – we are currently assisting the landowners to inspect their private systems to get to the core of the problem.

As previously advised we are working on options. None of these are cheap, quick or simple. A solution has been put forward by geotechnical engineers and it could take six to eight months to complete.

In the meantime we’re looking at short-term options to make it possible to open the road, with temporary traffic management in place. These options are being worked through now and we will come back to you with more information when we have it, likely in April.

Updated 29 January 2024

Road closure due to slip

Investigations are continuing into how best to stabilise the slip on Spinnaker Drive in Whitby so the intersection with SH58 can be reopened.

The slip in July partly blocked the road, which is closed between Leeward Drive and SH58. The current advice from geotechnical experts is that it is still not safe to remove slip material to reopen the road and detours remain in place.

Geotechnical investigations have been carried out and we are waiting on those final results, plus recommended options for remediation.

In the meantime, it is likely the road will remain closed for some time.

We are aware the detour is frustrating for many residents and thank everyone for their ongoing patience.

What has been done?

• Geotechnical testing (drilling) has been carried out to understand ground conditions
• A Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) survey has been completed to map the surface of the slip in 3D.
• Wellington Water testing to date has not identified any faults on its 3Water networks that may have contributed to the slip.