Remutaka Road Action Group
A new modern highway connecting the Wairarapa with Wellington and the World
A Killer Road
The Remutaka Hill Road falls far short of any reasonable standard for a major state highway linking two regions. Unless you are a rally car driver, this road is unpleasant to drive, increases travel time and creates risk.
There is no viable alternate route if the hill road is closed. The Remutaka Hill Road is not fit for purpose.
The 63 kilometre trip from Featherston to Te Papa usually takes about one hour.
If the Remutaka Hill road is closed, the only alternative is from Featherston to Palmerston North via the Pahiatua Track and then onto Wellington. This 260 kilometre route takes about 3 hours and 20 minutes!
The 'detour' adds about 200 kilometres and more than two hours!
Stuff agrees with an article titled The Road over the Remutaka Hill is a Killer.
One conclusion outlined in a 2008 report by Duffill Watts & Tse for the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) stated:
Daily Traffic implies that the highway is not functioning as intended 50% of the time. Again this suggests intervention by either alternative to roading initiatives (eg rail) or an upgrade strategy be implemented before 2035. Whatever mixture of strategies are adopted, improvements and Demand Management Strategies will need to be implemented well in advance of highway capacity being reached so that the traffic problems experienced on days of current special events do not become an everyday problem. Future congestion may impact on the ability of the Special Events to attract visitors.
In plain English, the consultant recommended that NZTA should do things that discourage drivers from travelling between the Hutt Valley and the Wairarapa. The consultant also warned that highway congestion may reduce the number of visitors travelling to events in the Wairarapa.
Problems with the Existing Route
The road is hard on vehicles (especially heavy vehicles), causing excessive wear and tear
The long, twisty uphill sections increase fuel use
High fuel consumption and heavy wear and tear adds unnecessary cost to passenger travel and freight transport between the Wairarapa and the Hutt Valley and Wellington
The continual twists & turns make for a slow and unpleasant journey, trigger travel sickness, and add unnecessary risk. See this video of the twisting journey between Featherston and the Remutaka road summit sped up 10x
Queues form behind slower vehicles, causing driver frustration and sometimes rage, and triggering risky overtaking
The road has five corners that a big truck can not get around without crossing the centreline. Truck-drivers talk to each other by two-way radio as they approach these corners. This doesn’t always work out. Sometimes a truck has to reverse to let another truck pass. There have been crashes between trucks rounding these curves. Check out this video
Queues form when trucks stop to let others get around the tight curves. This may trigger accidents, as some drivers won’t expect traffic to suddenly stop
The current road has no continuous stopping shoulder. Breakdowns and other necessary stops force all traffic to stop, and can block the whole road
The Remutaka Hill Road suffers regular total closures because of:
- Accidents and breakdowns
- Weather, including high winds and snow
- Rockfalls and slips
- Large vehicles being unable to pass each other on tight turns
- Planned and unplanned maintenance, typically between 9pm and 4am
In the event of closures, the alternative route adds about 200 kilometres and more than two hours!
Maintenance closures between 9pm and 4am effectively puts a curfew on Wairarapa residents
Unexpected closures leave people stranded
© Remutaka Road Action Group