Lower Hutt’s $100m road to nowhere

A road linking Seaview with State Highway Two has been talked about since the 1960s, with no result. reports why the Kaiko¯ura Earthquake has given its backers fresh hope.

The Cross Valley Link proposal has a long history.’’ That’s how a Hutt City Council report summed up the project in May 1992. It first appeared in the District Plan in 1964 and in the years since, has come and gone from various regional and city council plans.

On paper, the idea of a new road taking traffic from Seaview to SH2 seems a good one.

Seaview is one of the largest industrial areas in the region and is home to many of New Zealand’s largest science companies.

Throw in 30,000 cars a day from Wainuiomata, Eastbourne and Moera, and the result is often gridlock on the Petone Esplanade.

No one knows what it will cost to build a new road that could require the purchase of extensive property, including residential homes.

In recent years the figure of $100 million has been used but until detailed designs are done and a route agreed upon, that is only a guess.

The city council is spending $1 million to investigate its feasibility but Mayor Ray Wallace concedes that without significant funding from central government, the road is unlikely to be built.

‘‘GNS is saying the Petone Esplanade could drop by three feet or more in amajor earthquake.’’

That, according to the mayor, is where last November’s big shake might be a game changer.

Wallace has long argued that the CVL is a road of national significance, deserving of