Flooding fears raised for proposed link road
A Lower Hutt road identified as a priority for the new Government, in part to boost resilience, could be more like a canal than a road when it floods.
The Cross Valley Link (CVL) was one of 15 roads, recently classified as a road of national significance, to be fast tracked to ease congestion and encourage economic growth.
Hutt South MP Chris Bishop, now the Infrastructure Minister, campaigned on the promise to build the Cross Valley Link and Petone Grenada Rd both of which he believes will open up greenfield housing developments and provide resilience.
A Greater Wellington report, however, appears to put a question mark over the feasibility of the link road, part of which is under significant risk of flooding from the Waiwhetū Stream. It notes that up to 20,000 people live in the area and there are 4700 buildings in the area adjacent to the stream that could be flooded.
Depending on where the route goes, parts of it could be under two metres of water in a one in 100-year flood, according to Greater Wellington modelling.
The proposed road would take traffic from Wainuiomata/Seaview/Eastbourne to State Highway 2, where it would link to another yet to be built road, the Petone Grenada link road, also classified as a road of national significance.
With climate change increasing the risk of flooding, Green councillor Quentin Duthie said the report was “grim reading” for residents close to the Waiwhetū Stream in suburbs like Waiwhetū, Moera and Seaview.
Duthie said, however, that the CVL offered a potential solution to the flooding dilemma.
As well as dealing with the risk posed by flooding, the Government would need to build a new bridge for the CVL.
If the Government goes ahead with such a large project, he would like to see the Ava Rail Bridge upgraded, which would improve the resilience of the train network.
Providing flood protection for residents could also addressed at the same time.
That would be a win for public transport and could result in a project similar to RiverLink, combining roading and flood protection, in a way which also benefits public transport.
However, he opposed it being fast tracked. He wanted it to be considered carefully with all the issues around flooding, resilience, the need for new river bridges and climate change, taken into account.
Richard Willis, who lived on Whites Line West – the most likely route for the road – noted that as well as being subject to flooding, it was also within the council’s tsunami zone.
In 2004, the area had been subjected to a large flood that left much of Seaview, Waiwhetū and Moera under water, forcing residents out of their houses for months.
Although the Cross Valley Link had been talked about for decades, there had been little actual planning. As well as requiring a new river bridge, it would require the extensive removal of buildings, including residential properties.
One of the houses that could potentially go belonged to Willis, who has called Whites Line West home for 30 years.
Willis, who has taught geography at Victoria University for more than 50 years, has used the CVL as a case study in urban geography and believed the case for the link road was poor.
“I am a NIMBY but I will be dead before the thing is built, but I just can’t see the cost benefit really stacking up.”
As well as requiring a “very expensive” bridge over the river, all it would do was put more traffic onto SH2, he said.
Hutt City mayor Campbell Barry expressed delight at the Government’s announcement to fast track the link road.
As well as taking traffic off Petone’s main street, Jackson St, the link road would also take traffic off the Petone Esplanade. That would allow the council to make the Esplanade more attractive, he said.
Willis said the argument that it would be good for the Esplanade held little merit.
“The main beneficiaries would no doubt be the Esplanade property owners.”
Having caught the train to work for more than 40 years, he said the best way to reduce congestion was to do more to encourage public transport. He predicted the cost would prove prohibitive.
“We want to give more money to hospitals and nurses but we can’t because of all the money we spend on roads.”
Bishop has been approached for comment.