Westchester Drive Link Road

The new bridge over Stebbings Stream under construction

This project involves constructing a new 800-metre section of road linking Westchester Drive in Churton Park with Middleton Road in Glenside.

Aims

This new link road will:

provide direct access to State Highway 1 for Churton Park and Stebbings Valley residents
ease peak-hour congestion along Johnsonville Road
reduce through-traffic in Churton Park
provide an alternative route for emergencies
allow for new, more direct bus routes
include a footpath on the stream side of the road.

We expect the new road to carry about 2,500 vehicles a day at first, but this could increase to 8,000 to 9,000 vehicles a day. When Stebbings Valley is fully developed, it will have about 800 houses and a shopping centre and school.

Community Liaison

A community liaison group was established last year and meets regularly.

Time Frame & Construction Programme

Work on the new road started in March 2011 and is expected to be complete by late 2012. Though it was originally anticipated that up to 40 truckloads of earth a day would be removed from the site, most of it has been able to be retained and used on an adjoining property.

This meant work started in the middle rather than at the Middleton Road end as originally envisaged, we didn't have to build a temporary bridge to get earth out and it substantially reduced the number of trucks passing people's homes.

Plan of Work (4.03Mb PDF)

Work hours will be:

Monday to Friday 7.30am - 6.00pm
Saturday 9.00am - 3.00pm.

The new road is now visible at both ends and some of the new retaining walls and bridge supports are in place. The two bridges, earthworks, retaining walls and the new roundabout at Middleton Road should all be complete by July.

In the second half of 2012, work will include:

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installing new services
putting in the kerbs, footpath and handrails
surfacing and sealing the road
planting native plants on the recontoured hillsides and stream edges.

Simulations of the Completed Project

Simulations have been prepared to show how the project will look on completion - visualising how the road and bridges will look as viewed from:

Westchester Drive East (375Kb PDF)
Stebbings Dam (186Kb PDF)
Glenside Road (245Kb PDF)
Stebbings Road (229Kb PDF)

Environmental Concerns

Creating the link road involves building bridges at both ends and diverting a section of Stebbings Stream, a tributary of the Porirua Stream.

Plan Design

The design of the work takes into account the importance of protecting the stream and the environment.

The original design was for the road to go alongside and on top of the stream. The final design bridges the stream, rather than putting in culverts - this will better protect the environment and stream life.

The new section of road will fit the area's topography and closely follow the natural contours. More curves have been included to minimise the stream diversion work. Slopes will be cut at 45 degrees and rounded for a more natural landscape and making it easier to re-establish vegetation.

When construction work is finished, native plants will be planted on the recontoured hills and alongside the stream.

Environmental Monitoring

This is reflected in the Greater Wellington resource consent conditions and includes silt fences, ponds and agreed trigger points. Management plans mean we can act quickly to protect the stream when tests results show subtle changes in water quality.