Bus tunnel closed this weekend

Hataitai bus tunnel will be closed this weekend, which means changes for some bus users.

It is the second of four planned closures to do repair and painting work related to the earthquake-strengthening project.

Most of the work on the tunnel is being done while the tunnel is in operation. However, to safely make some improvements to the portals and retaining walls, some weekend tunnel closures are required.

The tunnel will be closed this Saturday and Sunday (14 and 15 March), day and night, and also on the following weekends:

· 21–22 March

· 11–12 April

The No 2 and 91 (Airport Flyer) services will use a different route on these days – travelling between Hataitai and the city via Kent and Cambridge terraces and the Mt Victoria road tunnel.

Temporary bus stops will operate in Taurima Street in Hataitai, replacing the usual ones on Waitoa Road adjacent to the tunnel and in the village.

People who normally get on or off buses in Elizabeth, Brougham or Pirie streets in Mt Victoria will need to use stops along Kent and Cambridge terraces instead.

Councillor Andy Foster, who chairs Wellington City Council’s Transport and Urban Development Committee, says contractors are making good progress on strengthening both ends of the tunnel.

“This essential work is helping to protect one of our most well-used public transport routes and it is great that our contractors have been able to do the bulk of it without disrupting passengers on the 400 or so buses that use the tunnel each weekday.

“Rock-fall netting has already been installed on the Hataitai side along with new horizontal beams that are tucked in behind the old portals and not obvious from the road. We’ve also installed long steel rods which anchor the structures to the hillside. The vertical buttresses that are going up now at both ends will further reinforce the tunnel entrances and retaining walls.”

He says some of the finishing work, including painting and applying an anti-graffiti coating to the exterior, has to be done while the tunnel is closed. So to avoid inconveniencing commuters on weekday services, it is being carried out on the weekends when fewer buses use the tunnel.

The work, which began in mid-November, is on schedule and expected to be complete in early May within budget.

It is required because structural assessments showed that while the tunnel itself is likely to withstand a reasonably large earthquake, the adjacent hillside and tunnel portals could come down and block the route.

The $1.1 million project is part of the Council’s ongoing programme to protect key routes. The programme includes strengthening road and pedestrian bridges and tunnels, and building seismically resilient retaining walls.

The tunnel, which was originally designed for trams, first opened to the public on 16 April 1907. Trolley buses began using it for the first time in 1963.

Bus timetables and information are available at www.Metlink.org.nz or by phoning 0800 801 700.

ends

© Scoop Media