Slow start to capital’s holiday weekend
THE AA’s key message for Labour Weekend, ‘‘drive to the conditions’’, meant more than just looking out for bad weather, spokesman Dylan Thomsen said.
‘‘Not all roads are created equal.’’
While many regional roads had the same 100kmh speed limits as urban motorways, their narrower runoff areas, and lack of protection such as median barriers, gave them less margin for error.
The Transport Agency warned drivers to expect delays this morning heading out of Wellington, and Monday afternoon to early evening for traffic heading back to the city, especially north of the Otaki roundabout.
Traffic descended into chaos north of Wellington last night, with the journey to Kapiti Coast taking two hours longer than normal.
Traffic started building up on State Highway 1 at Waikanae about midday and by 2.30pm the queues were back to Paekakariki and motorists were facing delays of up to an hour.
By 4pm the predicted delay time had doubled, with most cars between Paekakariki and Otaki going nowhere fast.
By 5.30pm Wellington’s urban motorway was also clogged heading north and traffic was heavy on SH2 between Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt.
A short time later, the Transport Agency said the journey from Wellington’s Terrace Tunnel to Waikanae via SH1, which normally takes about an hour, was taking closer to three hours.
One motorist who was brave enough to venture out into the traffic chaos, Rose Vailima, left Upper Hutt at noon bound for Waitarere Beach. But shortly before 4pm she was stuck in the traffic jam outside Coastlands Mall in Paraparaumu.
Having travelled out of Wellington several times on public holidays, she said yesterday’s traffic was particularly bad.
‘‘This is 100 per cent worse. It’s shocking. I don’t know why.’’
Another motorist said it took them 18 minutes to drive 50 metres between Paraparaumu and Waikanae.
Two women, who did not want to be named, were waiting near the corner of SH1 and Kapiti Rd in Paraparaumu for a bus that was due at 2.45pm, but had not arrived an hour later. ‘‘We need the [Kapiti] Expressway, as in yesterday,’’ one of them said.
If the Transport Agency’s predictions are anything to go by, today SH1 at Waikanae will be at its worst between 9am and 2.30pm and on Monday between 11.30am and 8pm.
Mark Owen, the agency’s regional performance manager, said SH2 over the Rimutaka Hill was also expected to be busy so motorists should be patient.
The good news was that all scheduled roadworks would be on hold over the long weekend, Owen said.
We need the [Kapiti] Expressway, as in yesterday.