Construction on a controversial pedestrian crossing near Wellington Airport will finally begin on Sunday, now all legal action has been permanently parked.
An artist's impression of the Cobham Drive pedestrian crossing. Photo: Supplied / Let's Get Wellington Moving
The airport stopped its court action against the Cobham Drive pedestrian crossing last Friday, a week after the High Court refused to grant an interim injunction against construction.
Waka Kotahi's regional manager for systems design, Kesh Keshaboina, said its maintenance team laid the asphalt base of the new crossing last month while doing road resurfacing.
"This means we won't have to dig up the road to construct the crossing, which reduces the overall disruption to people moving through the area."
Work will start on the city-bound side of Cobham Drive, with traffic reduced to one lane during off-peak periods.
The new crossing, featuring a central traffic island and accessible kerbs for wheelchairs, bikes, scooters and pushchairs, is expected to be open in late October.
Waka Kotahi said while the crossing would make the road safer, Let's Get Wellington Moving was also investigating long-term alternatives, including a bridge or underpass.
An image showing the location of the controversial Cobham Drive pedestrian crossing in Wellington. Photo: Supplied / Let's Get Wellington Moving
Wellington Airport had argued the crossing, the only one for 1.8km, would lead to congestion, and inconvenience locals, businesses and airport users.
A full hearing was set down for July, but the airport withdrew the case after the High Court ruling giving the green light for work to begin.
Airport chief executive Matt Clarke said "prolonged legal action won't benefit anyone now that construction has been allowed to begin".
