The six-month long earthquake-strengthening work on the Hataitai bus tunnel started today. but for bus users it should be business as usual most of the time says Wellington City Council.
Council’s transport and urban development committee chair Andy Foster says the work to strengthen the tunnel portals and adjacent retaining walls has been planned in a way that will allow the tunnel to continue to be used safely.
“The tunnel is used by about 400 buses each weekday, so finding a way to make it stronger and safer and keep it in operation was a top priority,” he says. “There may be brief delays on occasions, but every effort will be made to minimise disruption at peak times.”
Some weekend closures will be needed for safety reasons while the portals are repaired and painted. When the tunnel has to close, information on changes to services and alternative routes will be available at Metlink.org.nz.
The work is being done because structural assessments have shown that while the tunnel itself is likely to withstand a reasonably large earthquake, the adjacent hillside and old tunnel entrances could come down and block this bus route.
It will cost $1.1 to $1.3 million, which includes building new buttresses and beams to reinforce the existing tunnel entrances and retaining walls, and drilling and installing long rods to anchor the structures to the hillside.
Foster says the project is part of an ongoing council programme to protect key routes by strengthening tunnels, road and pedestrian bridges and building new retaining walls that are designed to perform well in earthquakes.
The tunnel, which was originally designed for trams, first opened to the public on 16 April 1907. Trolley buses began using it for the first time in 1963.
