Lower Hutt’s RiverLink: The $700m project to fix a river and a city

Explainer: Nicholas Boyack takes a look at RiverLink​, which will be the second biggest infrastructure project built in the Wellington region.

When work first began on what would eventually become a $700 million plan to protect central Lower Hutt from flooding, Jim Bolger was prime minister and Mike Moore was leader of the opposition. Wheel of Fortune was one of the most popular shows on TV.

Back then, in 1991, civic leaders began working on a plan to ensure the Hutt Valley was not devastated by flooding.

The Hutt Valley is the biggest urban flood-plain in the country and before Europeans arrived, the Hutt River/Te Awa Kairangi​ frequently changed course.

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As early as 1840, European settlers had a taste of how destructive the river could be when they initially congregated near the river mouth. Within months, the river flooded, and they decided that Wellington looked a safer bet – moving to Thorndon and creating what is now Wellington City.

In 1858, the remaining Europeans got a reminder when a massive flood inundated the lower valley, killing nine settlers.

In 2001 the Wellington Regional Council produced the Hutt River Floodplain Managements Plan, a 40-year plan to safeguard both Upper and Lower Hutt, with a modest budget of $78 million.

That project came from work started in 1991, which in 1996 resulted in a plan, ‘‘Living with the River’’, and a realisation Te Awa Kairangi was a major threat that could no longer be ignored.

The economic impact of a flood on central Lower Hutt is hard to estimate, although a figure of $1 billion has been used for more than 20 years.

The regional council recently applied for Resource Consent for RiverLink, a project that will complete the flood protection work outlined in the 2001 management plan.

Flood protection is still the driving force, but RiverLink has morphed into a $700m project which includes urban redesign, the Melling Interchange and a new road bridge across the river.

So how did a plan to stop Te Awa Kairangi flooding anywhere along the 38 kilometre river from Petone to northern Upper Hutt become RiverLink?

To understand how it has grown from a flood protection project, with a modest budget, to the second biggest infrastructure project in the region (behind Transmission Gully), you need to understand Lower Hutt’s history.

The city experienced a boom after World War II, with huge suburbs like Naenae, Taita and Wainuiomata springing up.

Large car plants, the Gear Meat Works and a significant industrial base created well-paid jobs for all. Retailing was strong and huge crowds flocked to Lower Hutt on Thursday for late-night shopping.

In 1986 the Queensgate Mall opened and with acres of free parking, it soon flourished.

Alarmed that the central business area outside Queensgate was in rapid decline, the city fathers decided to take action in the mid 1990s.

Overseas experts were called in and Mayor Glen Evans​ supported a plan to build a car parking building with a small mall.

The idea was to drag shoppers away from Queensgate with the lure of free parking. It was a financial and public relations disaster.

Not only did it nearly bankrupt the city, the Centre City Plaza struggled for tenants and the council eventually sold it for a huge loss.

For two decades, The Hutt News ran stories noting the alarming level of empty shops in southern High St. In 2017 it ran a story with the headline “Is Lower Hutt becoming Tumbleweed City as Petone Thrives?”

From 2010, the city council again began looking for ways to reinvigorate its central city. That led to a number of projects, including the $34m events centre and subsidising a hotel.

The major aim, however, was to turn the city towards the Hutt River. Early civic leaders had created a city that faced away from and largely ignored the river. By 2010, the council realised that was a big mistake.

At the same time, there was also increasing pressure on the Melling Bridge and accessing the city from State Highway 2.

As politicians pushed for a new bridge and an interchange to deal with congestion, it became increasingly obvious that the perfect time to construct it was at the same time as the flood protection work being planned for the river.

Combining flood protection with urban redevelopment became possible in 2020 when the Government agreed to fund the Melling Interchange.

The bulk of the funding will come from Government with $420m budgeted for transport improvements, which include a new road bridge linked to the interchange and relocating Melling Station and a cycle network.

Funding for urban revitalisation comes from the Hutt City Council, which is investing $138m in a riverbank park, and a cycling and walking bridge linking the new railway station to the central city.

Greater Wellington is contributing $145m for flood protection, much of which will go towards purchasing properties to allow for bigger and wider stopbanks to safeguard the city and create a park like area.

“We are focused on saving lives and property from a one in a 440-year flooding event that has a 23 per cent chance of happening in the next 100 years,” the resource consent states.

Hutt City mayor Campbell Barry says the lodging of the resource consent application marks the culmination of “years of mahi and collaboration” involving numerous agencies. He hopes it will be transformative for the city.

“Alongside creating better transport connections and better protecting our city from flooding, RiverLink will help boost economic and urban growth and reconnect our city towards the river.”

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency is aiming to start construction on the interchange in 2023 and have the work completed by 2027.