Petone Wharf funding secured after Melling interchange bridge reduced to one lane

Funding for the restoration of Petone Wharf has reportedly been secured after planners identified significant savings that could be made by reducing the new Melling bridge to a single lane.

The breakthrough follows months of discussion about how to fund major infrastructure projects across the Hutt Valley without placing further pressure on ratepayers.

Officials say the solution was eventually found in the RiverLink project, where a review discovered the planned bridge contained lanes travelling in both directions.

"That immediately stood out to us as an opportunity," a project spokesperson said.

"Two lanes is obviously more expensive than one."

Under the revised proposal, the new Melling bridge would carry traffic across the Hutt River in one direction at a time, freeing up millions of dollars for work on Petone Wharf.

Traffic heading into Lower Hutt would use the bridge for approximately 30 minutes before the direction was reversed to allow motorists waiting on the other side to cross.

Officials said the system was already widely used at roadworks throughout the Hutt Valley and motorists were therefore familiar with it.

"We've successfully moved thousands of Lower Hutt residents around using Stop/Go signs for years," the spokesperson said.

"There's no reason major transport infrastructure should be any different."

The change is expected to produce substantial savings in construction materials, including asphalt, concrete and approximately half a bridge.

Those savings would then be redirected towards Petone Wharf, allowing residents to once again walk several hundred metres out over Wellington Harbour before turning around and walking back.

Officials said this represented a sensible balance between the region's transport and recreational needs.

"We had to ask ourselves what Lower Hutt needs more: two lanes of traffic crossing the river simultaneously, or somewhere people can go for a nice walk over the water?"

"Once you frame the question that way, the answer becomes much clearer."

Transport planners acknowledged the one-lane bridge could create additional congestion around Melling, but said Hutt City Council's latest data suggested congestion did not currently exist in Lower Hutt.

Any increase in journey times would instead be classified as reflective travel.