RiverLink is hosting a public open day on Saturday 28 November at the Dowse Art Museum Lower Hutt.

It’s an opportunity for you to see how the indicative plans are looking for improvements to river health, flood protection, amenities and transport connections in Lower Hutt.

We want to hear what you think of our plans, and answer any questions you might have. Our project team will be there, ready to explain what we’ve been working on.

You will also be able to provide feedback online via our website www.RiverLink.co.nz. Details will be available soon. Feedback will remain open throughout December and into the new year.

We will consider your feedback (alongside input from our technical specialists, and project partners) as we work to improve our draft plans. Our next step is to finalise these plans and submit them as part of our applications for resource consent in early 2021.

Projects that may have an effect on the environment or on people need to have a resource consent before they can proceed.

If we are granted resource consent, we will then continue to develop the plans for RiverLink in more detail. There will be opportunities for you to provide feedback at each stage as we work through to starting construction.

RiverLink aims to make Lower Hutt more connected by improving transport links including a safer grade-separated State Highway 2 Melling interchange, a new Melling Bridge over Te Awakairangi Hutt River, and better walking, cycling and public transport options. The Melling Transport Improvements are funded through the NZ Upgrade Programme.

Right now, we are planning the cycling and walking routes that will be included in the project. We want to make sure there are safe, easy to use links between central Lower Hutt, the relocated Melling Train Station and the Western Hill suburbs of Harbour View and Tirohanga.

We also want to make the best of what we’ve already got by creating great links to Te Ara Tupua (the Wellington to Hutt Valley link that is currently being developed), and the paths on the Hutt River Trail. We’ll be talking with local cycling and walking groups and then sharing these plans with you (along with other details on the project) when we ask for community feedback in the coming months.

We’ve also started work on traffic modelling that will help us understand the how people get around central Lower Hutt in vehicles and how this will change once the new interchange and bridge are built.

RiverLink are proud to be sponsors of and have a virtual stand at the Wellington Business Expo this year.

The Expo is running for two weeks from 12 October. You can view our RiverLink Stand here.

Like many things, expos have been badly disrupted due to Covid. To best meet the needs of the business community the Business Chamber adapted their Expo model with a mix of virtual and in-person events. Events this year include:

• Business Economist Breakfast, with guest speaker Brad Olsen, sponsored by NZME
• Business safaris – getting up close with local business tours to see behind the scenes
• Manufacturing and Technology Forum – highlighting the breadth of innovative hi tech manufacturing companies across the Wellington region
• Education to Employment Careers Showcase – opportunities for school leavers to learn about local trade careers and for local employers to connect with young talent coming through
• The Wellington Big Business Bash – open to everyone, this event celebrates nearing the end of the rollercoaster ride of 2020

Volunteers from Pareraho Forest Trust and the Belmont School community mucked in at a working bee at the newly constructed RiverLink Belmont Wetland pilot on Te Awa Kairangi / Hutt River over the weekend.

Keen kids and their parents planted and identified native trees, removed noxious weeds and had a lot of fun exploring and playing in and around the wetland.

The RiverLink project team will be doing ground investigations in the Daly Street area in Lower Hutt for three to four weeks starting Friday 7 August.

This work will comprise of drilling two boreholes and a few less invasive tests. The testing is an essential part of the RiverLink project. The data from the tests will be used in the design and construction of RiverLink. The map image shows the test sites.

RiverLink is currently at the consenting phase and we are working to develop the design for RiverLink and preparing to apply for resource consents. During this stage we will also start to consider construction plans. As the project progresses we will keep you informed and give plenty of notice before construction work begins.

Our partner organisations will continue to be in contact with the owners of properties that may need to be purchased, and with tenants of properties we already own.

COVID-19 has had an impact on the project's timeframes and, like many other organisations and projects around New Zealand, we need to adapt. We will continue to update you on developments. If you have any questions about RiverLink, please get in contact with us on RiverLink@gw.govt.nz

We're conducting research to understand how people would like to engage on the RiverLink project in the Lower Hutt community and we would love to hear your thoughts. This will help us make improvements to make it easier for you to find valuable information on current and upcoming projects, share your thoughts and ask questions.

Everyone who completes this survey will go in the draw to win one of three spot prizes valued at $50 each.

Click here for the RiverLink survey.

Not far from the RiverLink project area, construction of the Petone to Melling section of Te Ara Tupua is underway - with work currently taking place around Parliament Street. Te Ara Tupua is the project to create a walking and cycling link between Wellington and Lower Hutt.

The project includes an underpass beneath the railway line at Parliament Street in Melling. Contractors Fulton Hogan will be working on this for approximately six months. A one-way detour will be in place during this time.

More information can be found on the project website

Contractors are completed stage 2 of planting at the new Belmont pilot wetland. This wetland is the forerunner for schemes designed to manage stream and stormwater run-off into Te Awa Kairangi / Hutt River, improving its water quality and supporting habitats for wildlife.

Belmont School and the Hill Road community have been involved in previous plantings, however this phase includes more challenging planting with sedges and water-tolerant plants, so specialist contractors are leading this stage. We look forward to partnering with the school and community for future planting in the area.

With the recent rain Morphum Environmental Limited Ecological Engineer Stu Farrant visited the wetland. He says "the inlet structures that flow through the wetland are working as designed, protecting the wetland from extreme flows".

It is hoped that the pilot wetland will help us better understand how we can incorporate wetlands into the design for RiverLink