DEVELOPMENT OF HUTT ROAD

Dominion, Volume 38, Issue 7, 3 October 1944, Page 6

DEVELOPMENT OF HUTT ROAD

Highways Engineer’s View PROVISION FOR FUTURE TRAFFIC Examination of the 1939 traffic tally taken on the Hutt Road immediately north of Ngahauranga showed that during the peak traffic hours both on weekdays and Sundays truck traffic was li«,ht,particularly on the Sundays, the day of the heaviest two-hour peak. It. would therefore, the chief engineer of the Main Highways Board, Mr. F. Laugbeiu, said before the Hutt Harbour Commission yesterday, appear reasonable to use a higher figure than those of American authorities for four-lane rural highway capacities for the Hutt Road. He suggested that 1000 vehicles a laue for each hour might be reasonable. . When the traffic in one direction exceeded 2000 vehicles an hour for more than 30 hours in a year it would be necessary to consider the provision of a sixlane highway. To handie such traflict w Petone rail crossing would have to be eliminated. More traffic could be accommodated, but only with congestions and consequent slowing up of S P°C£: , maximum traffic capacity of a highway was at 33 miles an hour, and its variation between 20 and i>o miles an hour did not exceed 20 per cent. Examining the figures oi a 19m J tally, Mr. Langbein said that the density at that time was just about half the npr™] working capacity of the four-lane divided section of the highway between Ngahauranga and Petone. Ngabauranga-City Section. 4 The section of the. highway south of Ngahauranga had to accommodate traffic to and from the Ngahauranga G ° r S e I “j 1 the branch traffic to and from the Kaiwarra Gorge and Onslow Road m addition to that to and from Petone. It was not divided. It would, for those reasons, be necessary to make additional provision for traffic on that section, or at least ou the portion north of the 1 horndon overbridge, before the conversion of the Ngahauranga portion to six lanes. It might be necessary earlier because of extensive building in the Tawa Flat and Porirua districts. He quoted tally figures to indicate that traffic through the Ngahauranga Gorge was heavier than stated in evidence given earlier before the commission. . , After examining the factors which appeared likelv to govern future increases of traffic on the Hutt Road, Mr. Langbein said it would appear possible to state with some degree of certainty ing of tho Hutt Road between Ngahauranga and Petone would not be required till such time as the population of the Hutt Valley, including the eastern bays, was at least 100.090. He did not consider that the establishment of a Hutt harbour would have any appreciable influence on the peak traffic on the road, and none nt all. when it became necessary to widen to six lanes. Engineering Aspects. No detailed survey had ever been made for the widening of the Hutt Road to six lanes, Mr. Langbein stated, but he had made a recent walk-over inspection with a view to deciding the bestr means to use- . The country to the west ot the road was such that he did not consider it would be possible to make provision for the additional width entirely on the land side. This would mean that the railway would have to be placed further to the seaward in such places. The elimination of the Petone crossing would appear to be best effected by deviating the railway eastward and locating the crossing some distance south of its present location.. It might possibly be found that if widening between Ngahauranga and the Thorndon overbridge were effected, widening of the section from the overbridge to V cllingtou might be unnecessary because of the bifurcation of. traffic.. Any planning should essentially suit both the needs of highway and rail traffic, and should be done by the Railways Department and the Main Highways Board in collaboration. To the chairman of the commissio”. Sir Francis Frazer, Mr. Langbein said that the cost of the developments he had envisaged would be very large. The first item would be the Petone overbridge and other developments could then wait for a time. Graded junction work at Ngahauranga would also hare to be considered. Answering the Government Town Planner, Mr. Mawson, he said he had not considered possible delays in traffic when it reached the city. That was a matter for the city authorities. Some considerable improvement would no doubt be necessary.