The Hutt River (Te Awa Kairangi) is one of the region’s greatest assets. It is also one of its greatest risks due to its flood potential. The Riverlink project is a key part of the river’s flood protection infrastructure and Boffa Miskell is assisting three agencies (Greater Wellington Regional Council, Hutt City Council and NZ Transport Agency) to integrate city urban design and transport improvements with the investment in flood protection. Our urban planning and design team has played a key role in integrating the aspirations of these three agencies and the Hutt Valley community.
Client
Location
Worked with
BECA
Monk Mackenzie
OPUS
GHD
Damwatch
Project date
2013 - ongoing
The flood protection work has provided the opportunity to revitalise the city centre and adjoining river space, by emphasising its position as a ‘riverside city’. A promenade on top of the stopbank, new pedestrian and cycle pathways, residential and commercial development opening out to the river park are envisaged, along with improved public transport connectivity and park and ride parking.
In 2014, Boffa Miskell helped the project team through a process to consider multiple options for the river corridor, taking into consideration climate change and economic influences. An engagement process was used to get feedback from the community and find the option that would be most supported.
Boffa Miskell continues to coordinate the various design and engineering inputs to develop an integrated vision and concept design, which together will greatly improve the city’s resilience in the face of future change. The concept design phase is planned to proceed to consenting and designation process decisions in 2017.
