SH1 Wellington tunnels

Every month, the Wellington Transport Alliance closes each of the SH1 Wellington City tunnels at night including the Terrace Tunnel, Mt Victoria Tunnel and Arras Tunnel. The closures are required so crews can perform routine maintenance to keep the tunnels safe and operational for all road users.

Aside from regular maintenance, there is also an annual Building Warrant of Fitness (BWOF) closure for Terrace (4 days) and Mt Victoria (4 days) in March each year.

Occasionally there may be additional closures planned as required and these will be updated on this web page as they are scheduled. When the tunnels are closed, vehicles will need to take alternative routes to travel through SH1.

Tunnel closure maintenance schedule

9pm - 5am

Check the schedule below for more information on when each tunnel closure is happening. The tunnels are closed at night, usually between 9pm and 5am. This is to avoid heavily impacting traffic during the day.

Please note: Tunnels may close on other nights for non-routine works. To check, visit Journey Planner.

Journey Planner road works - download a copy of the SH1 Wellington tunnels maintenance closures(external link)

What happens during tunnel closures?

There is a lot of work involved to keep the tunnels safe and operational for road users, works include:

• updating and inspecting technology such as PA systems, cameras, electronic signs
• keeping emergency systems up to date in case of incidents
• maintaining fire detection and suppression systems
• maintain ventilation and air quality monitoring systems as required
• regular training with FENZ for incidents
• structural inspections
• asphalt resurfacing, barrier and signage renewals as required
• clearing sumps and drainage
• general cleaning and graffiti removal
• replacing lights
• annual BWOFs.

Watch this video to see what happens during a tunnel closure: