Importance to Wellington

The Inner City Bypass will:

Ease congestion and reduce delays

The Bypass will relieve traffic congestion. Traffic heading for the airport, the hospital and to the southern and eastern suburbs will be separated from traffic heading into the Central Business District.

Motorists will spend less time queuing, decrease their overall travel distance, and save time moving across the city.

The new route won't be a speedway - the speed limit will be 50km/h - but integrated traffic signal phasing and reduced congestion will enable traffic to flow along the new route much more efficiently.

The Bypass will also ease traffic on alternative routes, creating timesavings in other areas of the city.

At present Ghuznee Street, for example, is a main arterial route. 20,000 vehicles travel down Ghuznee Street every day - compared with just 9,000 along Dixon Street and 8,000 down Lambton Quay.

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Be safer for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians

One of the primary objectives of the Bypass is to improve safety for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists. The Bypass will improve safety because traffic movements will be simplified with a new main arterial road. This means:

    • fewer intersections
    • fewer turns off the main flow
    • fewer corners than the current route 

This will reduce the potential for accidents caused by turning or stopping traffic.  There are six major traffic turns now which will be reduced to two with the proposed Bypass.

The speed limit will be 50km/h until Willis Street. From the Vivian Street overbridge to the Terrace Tunnel the speed limit will increase to 80km/h.

For cyclists and pedestrians, a new, combined cycleway and footpath will be built the length of the new road - more than 1km-long. This will be linked by a dedicated traffic-signalled controlled pedestrian and cycle crossing at Cuba Street to provide opportunities for people and cyclists to travel along the route and across town more safely.

The Bypass will further improve pedestrian safety by removing state highway traffic from Ghuznee Street and the heart of Cuba Street - an area with high pedestrian traffic.

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Preserve heritage buildings

The preservation of heritage buildings is a significant part of the Inner City Bypass.  All heritage buildings in the path of the Inner City Bypass route will be relocated (close by) and timber exteriors restored.

Provide a more direct route

The Bypass will provide a more direct route to link people in the Hutt Valley, northern, western and Greater Wellington suburbs with the Wellington Airport, Hospital and southern and eastern suburbs.

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Provide a new cycleway and pedestrian footpath

A new footpath and cycleway will be built along the length of the Bypass, and will be linked by pedestrian crossings controlled by traffic signals. This will benefit both pedestrians and cyclists travelling between the Basin Reserve and Te Aro, and encourage people to walk or cycle around town.

By taking traffic away from the high pedestrian areas of Ghuznee Street and the central Cuba Street area, it will make it easier and more pleasant to walk around this area.

Facilitate new, better public transport schemes, and ease existing transport routes

The Bypass will reduce delays to public transport routes, particularly along Taranaki Street. It will also relieve pressure in a number of other areas which will facilitate the development of a series of public transport schemes as detailed in the Wellington Regional Land Transport Strategy (see the Greater Wellington Regional Council website).

The Bypass is not expected to attract people away from public transport because it is not expected to create traffic growth in the city. This is due to capacity restrictions around the central business district, at the Terrace Tunnel, Mt Victoria Tunnel and at the Adelaide Road/Riddiford Street intersection.

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Breathe life into Te Aro

For about 40 years, Te Aro has lived with uncertainty as to whether the Bypass will be built, and consequently, the area has become run-down.

The Bypass will breathe life into Te Aro by allowing it to develop, and encouraging people to put energy into preserving the heritage of the area.

Wellington City Council and Transit designers, landscapers and urban designers are ensuring the Bypass route is a pleasant drive. It will be lined with native trees. As well as enhancing the route, these will provide a natural separation between cyclists, pedestrians and motorists.

A lot of work has gone into creating positive spaces along the Bypass route.
For example, a new urban space will be created at the end of the new cul-de-sac in southern Abel Smith Street, and will include paving and landscaping. To highlight the corner adjacent to this cul-de-sac, there will be paving and seating. On the other corner, Bar Bodega will be restored and relocated about 15 metres down the road, and there is the potential for a garden bar site on this corner.

The Bypass will also safeguard the historic significance of the heritage buildings along the route.

A further spin-off from the building of the Inner City Bypass, is that the Wellington City Council will enhance Upper Cuba Street, to fit in with its plans to revitalise Te Aro.

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Be environmentally friendly

Because the current route is congested and traffic is stop/start, noise and exhaust emissions are very high.  The Bypass will allow traffic to flow more smoothly, reducing congestion and exhaust emissions in the area.  As a result, studies show that overall, pollution will reduce as a result of the Bypass being built.

The new cycle lanes and pedestrian routes will also make cycling safer and more convenient, encouraging people to take two of the most energy efficient modes of transport.  

Native trees and plants will be established along the route.

The Bypass will not allow a greater number of vehicles to travel through the area. The number of cars that can use the Bypass is constrained by capacity restrictions at

  • the Terrace Tunnel
  • the Mount Victoria Tunnel
  • through the city

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