Transmission Gully Motorway

Project Description:

Te Aranui o Te Rangihaeata (Transmission Gully Motorway) project is being delivered by Wellington Gateway Partnership (WGP) in partnership with the New Zealand Government. Transmission Gully is the first motorway in New Zealand to be constructed on behalf of the New Zealand Government under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) contract. A key part of the Wellington Northern Corridor, the project is one of the most significant single pieces of new road construction in the lower North Island.

Built to demanding specifications, the design and construction of the Transmission Gully motorway reflects the need for another route between Wellington and the lower and central North Island that will be safer and more reliable for motorists and better able to resist and recover from earthquakes and storms. The project is highly complex, with difficult and steep terrain requiring large-scale earthworks during construction of the project. The 27 kilometre four-lane motorway required twenty-five new structures equating to a total length of more than a kilometre. The largest structure, Cannons Creek Bridge, stretches 230 metres in length and 60 metres above the valley floor.

Our Role:

Construction Sciences established a laboratory in Wellington, New Zealand to conduct all earthworks testing for the Transmission Gully project and have now moved into pavements testing as well. The motorway was opened to the public in March 2022. The Construction Sciences NZ Team delivered a high level of service to the project, and developed professional relationships with other NZ construction companies in order to develop on-going business opportunities and presence in New Zealand.

Images 1&2 source: Images courtesy of Wellington Gateway Partnership. Transmission Gully pre-opening photo shoot December 02, 2021 in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo by Mark Tantrum/ marktantrum.com)

Image 3 source:  Early works – Photo by Construction Sciences