The Te Ara Tupua project is a proposed active transport route between Wellington and Lower Hutt, New Zealand.
The Ngā Ūranga to Pito-one section will stretch from the Ngauranga Interchange to Honiana Te Puni Reserve in Petone to the Petone to Melling section. It includes:
- a 4.5 kilometre long, five metre wide sealed surface shared path
- six ūranga (landings) located at key sites along the shared path’s length providing areas for planting, landscaping, habitat creation, and gathering, resting and viewing areas
- a shared path bridge over the railway
- 2.7 kilometres of 16-metre-wide rock embankment to protect the path and ūranga
- six seawall segments, totaling 626 metres in length to protect the shared path
- four offshore habitats for coastal bird life located 40 metres from the shoreline
- Tāwharau Pod buildings, which will house a project information centre and studio workspaces for the art to be featured in the project, and
- the construction of a reef habitat.
Key Dates
| Nov 2015 | Project Announcement |
| Apr 2020 | Preferred Bidder Selection |
| Jul 2022 | Contract Award |
| Mar 2023 | Construction Commencement |
| 2026 | Expected Construction Completion |
Funding contributions
| Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency |
Procurement
| Procuring Agency: | Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency |
| Successful Tenderer: | The Te Ara Tupua Alliance comprising Downer, HEB Construction and Tonkin + Taylor. |
PROJECT HISTORY
| Apr 2020 | NZ$171 million to NZ$190 million of funding from the Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency was approved for the Ngā Ūranga ki Pito-one section of the project. They also announced a consortia comprising Downer NZ, HEB Construction and Tonkin + Taylor, supported by Isthmus, Boffa Miskell and Holmes Consulting has been invited to form an alliance with Waka Kotahi for the delivery of this section. |
| Feb 2021 | The Ngā Ūranga ki Pito-One section of Te Ara Tupua was approved under the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-Track Consenting) Act. |
| Apr 2021 | The project's funding was approved and Alliance partners were named. |
| Jul 2021 | Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency signed the Interim Project Alliance Agreement with the project's design and construction partners. The execution of the Project Alliance Agreement, enabling the commencement of construction, was expected once designs and costs were confirmed. |
| Sep 2021 | The Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency confirmed the project cost in its 2021-24 National Land Transport Program, with $179 million allocated to the Ngā Ūranga to Pito-one section. |
| Jul 2022 | Waka Kotahi approved NZ$312 million in funding for the Ngā Ūranga ki Pito-One section of the project, an increase on the NZ$179 million funding previously approved in 2021. |
| Jul 2022 | The Alliance contract, Te Ara Tupua Alliance, for the Ngā Ūranga ki Pito-One section was awarded to Downer, HEB Construction and Tonkin + Taylor. |
| Nov 2022 | Early works commenced on the project. |
| Mar 2023 | Major works commenced on the project, starting with the construction of Tāwharau Pod buildings. |
| Feb 2024 | Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency announced approvals for the construction of a reef habitat covering five hectares at the northern end of the Ngā Ūranga ki Pito-One area as part of the project. |
| Sep 2024 | The National Land Transport Programme 2024-27 was released, allocating NZ$136 million (A$126 million) to the completion of the project over the next three years. |
Estimated Total Cost
(2023)
Sector
Other Transport
Procurement approach
Alliance |
Location
New Zealand |
Resources
Media releases
2024/02/202021/04/23
2021/02/05
2021/07/05
2022/07/26
2022/07/21
2022/11/21
2023/03/16
