The Terrace Tunnel takes the

Wellington Urban Motorway The Wellington Urban Motorway, part of State Highway 1 (New Zealand), State HIghway 1, is the main road into and out of Wellington, New Zealand. It is 7 km long, ranges from three to seven lanes wide, and extends from the base of the Ngaur ...

(SH1) under The Terrace in central

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, New Zealand. Opened in 1978, it is 460 metres in length.

Coordinates

* North portal: * South portal:

Design

The tunnel has three traffic lanes, one southbound and two northbound. The merge towards single southbound lane causes frequent congestion during peak periods

rush hour A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English, Indian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice e ...

. However flows at the southern end of the tunnel have improved somewhat since the opening of the Wellington Inner City Bypass. The tunnel is one of the few single-carriageway stretches of motorway in New Zealand. All that separates opposing flows of traffic is a set of double no-overtaking lines and a series of slim fixed-in-place post-style road bollards. The tunnel was opened as part of the extension of the Wellington Urban Motorway through Thorndon to Te Aro and was originally envisaged to include a parallel three-lane tunnel exclusively for southbound traffic (with the existing tunnel built for northbound traffic only). The motorway was intended to be extended to Mount Victoria Tunnel which would also have been duplicated. However this proposal was shelved in the early 1970s as the rising cost of building the single tunnel ruled out duplication for the foreseeable future and the extension beyond Willis Street. The cut in funding sees the design of the motorway abruptly reduce from about the Bowen Street overbridge as six lanes are curtailed to three lanes. Appraisal of expected traffic flows also indicated that the second tunnel would not be needed for many years. Some of the pillars for the second tunnel approaches are visible in the Clifton Terrace car park adjacent to the cable car line, as is some of the approach road which currently forms part of the upper deck of the Clifton Terrace carpark. These pillars may also be seen on the left hand (eastern) side of "The Terrace Looking South" webcam on the CityLink website. A

reversible lane A reversible lane, also known as variable lane, dynamic lane, and tidal flow, is a managed lane in which traffic may travel in either direction, depending on certain conditions. Typically, it is meant to improve traffic flow during rush hours, b ...

(tidal flow) system as used on the

Auckland Harbour Bridge The Auckland Harbour Bridge is an eight-lane motorway bridge over Waitematā Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand. It joins Saint Marys Bay, New Zealand, St Marys Bay on the Auckland city side with Northcote, Auckland, Northcote on the North Shore, ...

has been proposed. Investigation as part of the tunnel link project raised questions about safety of such an option, but it has not been ruled out. As you enter the tunnel it is impossible to see the other end, as it curves in the middle.

State Highway status

When it opened in 1978, the tunnel was the southern end of State Highway 2. Alterations at the Ngauranga SH1/SH2 interchange in 1984 connected SH1 to the motorway; although SH1 continued off the Aotea Quay offramp until 1996. In 1996 Transit extended the SH1 status to the entire route from the end of the Wellington Urban Motorway to

Wellington Airport Wellington International Airport — formerly known as Rongotai Aerodrome or Rongotai Airport, or simply Wellington Airport — is an international airport located in the suburb of Rongotai in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. It lies ...

. From 2007 this is via the Wellington Inner City Bypass.

Systems and safety upgrade

In order to ensure that the tunnel continues to operate effectively the

NZ Transport Agency NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA), superseded by is a New Zealand Crown entity tasked with promoting safe and functional transport by land, including the responsibility for driver and vehicle licensing, and administering the New Zealand st ...

(NZTA) is upgrading the fire fighting, lighting, ventilation and drainage systems, building new tunnel control buildings and making some earthquake safety improvements. This work will extend the working life of the Terrace Tunnel. The upgrade finished in 2012. Upgrade works were being completed by the Wellington Tunnels Alliance formed by Leighton Contractors, Sinclair Knight Merz,

Aecom AECOM (, ; formerly AECOM Technology Corporation; stylised A''Ξ''COM) is an American multinational infrastructure consulting firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company's official name from 1990–2015 was AECOM Technology Corporation, ...

and NZTA.

Future of tunnel

The corridor incorporating the tunnel is part of the wider study being undertaken by the NZTA. Future duplication of the tunnel is currently being investigated. In November 2024, the government announced that the NZTA had been instructed to begin the process of developing an investment case under the Roads of National Significance upgrade plan. The government announced its preferred option which included finishing the second Terrace tunnel, and duplicating the nearby Mt Victoria tunnel as one major project with multiple stages. The NZTA has been instructed to prepare an investment case for its board to consider approving mid 2025.

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Wellington City Road tunnels in New Zealand State Highway 1 (New Zealand) Transport buildings and structures in the Wellington Region Tunnels completed in 1978 1978 establishments in New Zealand